


From the Ashes

by oliveornothing



Series: Fire and Ice [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Selection Series - Kiera Cass
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo is a Mess, F/M, Good Parent Han Solo, Hate to Love, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Is this a kissing book?, It gets better I promise, Poe and Ben are brothers, Prince Ben Solo, Selection AU, Slow Burn, han/leia actually work out, neither does ben, rey doesn't want to be here, the bachelor on steroids, the first couple chapters are short, this might be the first of a series but who knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:14:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23417293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliveornothing/pseuds/oliveornothing
Summary: High Rulers of the Galactic Empire, Han and Leia Organa-Solo, are at their wits' end with their spoiled son Ben. After he sends the last of their marriage prospects packing, they decide to take drastic measures-they decide to hold a Selection. Thirty-five girls from surrounding planets will all come to live in the castle and compete for Ben's hand in marriage. With the First Order rising from the ashes of the Empire, it may be the pick-me-up that the people need. BUT that doesn't mean Ben has to be happy about it. Prepare for craziness, drama, and a whole lot of Ben Solo sassiness.Selection AU where Rey is forced by Unkar Plutt to enter, and she actually gets picked to come to the palace. She's sure she'll get kicked out on the first day, but what would be the fun in that?***you don't have to know what the Selection is to read this fic! I'm just taking the general idea of the Selection process and making it Reylo...it's basically just the Bachelor on steroids.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Fire and Ice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716736
Comments: 182
Kudos: 191





	1. Desperate Measures

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! First of all, if you are reading this, thank you! Much of this chapter is introduction, I promise the action will pick up once there are thirty-five women in the palace fighting for the same man! My idea here is that Leia and Han are the High Rulers of the Republic, and the planets under their rule have King and Queens as well, hence them trying to marry Ben off to a princess. However, there will be a lot of familiar characters, planets, and general Star Wars amazingness! Also, even if you haven’t read the Selection, I hope you will stick around for this fic, because besides the idea of the Selection itself, there won’t be much from the books, so you should be able to understand what's going on without having read it.
> 
> \--I'm not sure if anyone has done this before, but the idea popped into my brain while rereading the Selection and I just had to write it!

**From the Ashes**

Chapter One

_Desperate Measures_

Leia Organa-Solo, High Queen of the Galactic Republic, on a balcony high in the royal palace, sighed for perhaps the thousandth time. Eyes scanning over the horizon at the glittering high rises of Coruscant, the Queen stood with her shoulders slumped and hands raised in an exhaustive gesture to rub her temples, a stance which was a stark change to her usual, confident, posture. It was there that she stood, removing the hands from her temples to brace herself against the railing of the balcony in a defeated gesture, until she felt a hand snake around her waist and guide her out of the chilled air and into the warmth of her bedchamber.

“My darling, it does no one any good,” a gruff voice broke the silence, “to fret over things we cannot control.”

A warm kiss pressed against her temple accompanied the words of her husband, Han Solo, the King who ruled by her side and the love of her life. Sometimes, she forgot he was the latter of the two, especially when he was aggravating her, which happened to be exactly what was happening at the present moment. 

“Things we cannot control,” she turned to meet her husband’s smirk with steely eyes, “are things such as the weather, or-or coaxium prices! Those things certainly do not include our own _son_!”

She threw her hands up in an exasperated gesture to exemplify her point.

Han crossed his arms and returned her angry gaze with a raised eyebrow, “Leia, when have we ever been able to control that boy? He is quite frankly, your worship, a jackass, who has inherited your stubbornness!”

“ _My_ stubbornness?!” Leia sputtered, “if he’s a jackass, as you so delicately put it, dear husband, he inherited that from your people.”

“Oh that is _rich_ , sweetheart, considering who your father was.”

If looks could kill, the King of the Republic would be dead on the spot.

To an outsider, it would seem that Han and Leia harbored feelings of hate toward one another, instead of love, but this was their typical banter. They rarely took the insults to heart. It had always been this way between them, and it wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

“Oh Han,” Leia conceded with a tone of sorrow, only after a moment of silence and glares had passed, “what are we going to do with him? He’s just sent the very last of our marriage prospects, crying, from the dinner table!”

The King and Queen had been trying, rather unsuccessfully to secure an advantageous marriage for their eldest child, Ben, or Kylo, as he had demanded they start calling him. With the threat of a rebellion from within their own Republic, it was more important than ever to secure the royal line, as well as alliances with other kingdoms, and to lift the people’s spirits. A royal wedding could quite possibly secure all of those things quite neatly, and Leia and Han knew it. 

The problem was, Ben knew it as well, and in his typical fashion, he had set out to be as difficult during the process as was humanly possible. He had sent all of his prospective brides, crying, or perhaps even screaming, from the capital. On this particular occasion, he had said some rather unkind things to the princess of Mon Cala regarding her possible relation to a famous Mon Calamari Admiral, a barb in which he intended to refer to the distance between her eyes. The wayward comment, accompanied by a general snarky attitude, had drawn a horrified look from his mother and sent the princess packing. 

Han couldn’t help but let the beginnings of a smile poke through his now stoic expression, “Well, you have to admit that she wasn’t the _loveliest_ princess to ever grace the castle with her presence.”

Leia shot him a shocked expression, but pressed her mouth into a wry smile, “Well, he had exhausted all his other options! And he didn’t have to say so over dessert.” 

Perhaps it was the outrageousness of it all, or maybe it was the pent-up stress of dealing with their impossible son, but it was in that moment that the King and Queen of the Republic broke into a very undignified bout of laughter, sides heaving.

The moment passed quickly, however, and the royals were sobered by the fact that they now had to come up with a plan to deal with their son. Their hopes to secure an alliance by marrying him off to a princess had been dashed and now their only option was to secure a match with the daughter of a prominent family-or so Leia thought, until Han spoke.

“We do have one option that we’ve been very reluctant to discuss,” he looked at Leia pointedly.

The Queen snorted, knowing immediately what he was referring to, “You can’t be serious, Han. All these years, I never pegged you as such a romantic.”

“Well, my darling, it worked in the past, who’s to say it couldn’t work again? It could tie up our loose ends nicely, boost the spirits of the people. Besides, we’re running low on options here.”

Leia put her head in her hands. She hated to admit it, but Han was right. They didn’t have many options left, and with the “First Order”, the rebellion which had begun to rise from the defeated Empire, they needed to make sure the royal line was as strong as ever-and they need to do it quickly. Maybe it wasn’t so important that Ben marry a princess or the daughter of a noble after all. He obviously held a powerful enough position on his own. 

It was Leia herself who finally said the dreaded word, “So is that our final decision, bringing back the Selection for our son?”

The Selection was a very old practice, back from long before even the days of the Empire. It was something Han and Leia had only read about, and that was long-forgotten among most of the people. Basically, women from the ages of eighteen to twenty-two, from all over the Galaxy, would apply to come live in the castle, meet the prince, and compete for his hand in marriage. He would be able to eliminate anyone, at anytime, for any reason. The hope was that he would fall in love with one of the women and propose marriage by the end. Surprisingly, it had an excellent success rate. The only reason they had stopped the practice was that somewhere along the line, a royal couple had only one son, who was forced to marry a princess to secure an alliance with another kingdom. The trend had continued, until now. 

Han looked in amazement at his wife, taken aback that she had agreed so readily. It wasn’t a common occurrence to be sure.

“Don’t look at me like that, Han. I know when I’m backed into a corner. It makes sense, and I have to admit that, no matter how much I hate admitting that you’re right.”

She paused before adding, “This may even be a blessing in disguise, if I may be so bold. The more I think, the more it seems to be more advantageous for Ben to marry a commoner than it would have been for him to marry a princess, though I’ll go to my grave without admitting that to him. It would strengthen our relationship with the people, allow them to see into our world, all the while promising that our son will marry one of them, one of their daughters, one of their friends. It would be a connection that they haven’t had in a very long time.”

Han was nodding as she finished her statement. He and the Queen were fair rulers, and well-loved by their people, but he had to agree that there was a disconnect between them and their people. A Selection could be their reminder to the people that the royals were not so different after all and ease tensions in a time when their subjects were becoming anxious about the First Order. 

Yes, it seemed that the solution to their Ben problem was staring them in the face.

“We’ll have to talk to the royal advisors, of course, but they will no doubt see the sense behind the idea, though I don’t believe they’ll be too happy about throwing such an event together in a hurry,” he interjected.

“We must call an emergency meeting. Now.”

“Now? Are you insane, woman? It’s the middle of the night!”

“Han,” she started with an exasperated tone, “these things do not plan themselves, and if what I have read about past Selections is true, this is no small undertaking. And to be quite honest, your son is getting more infuriating every day. It’s time he understood his responsibility to his people and to us. This cannot wait. Get your comlink and call the members of the Royal Council while I dress.”

Han just sighed and exited the bedchambers, making for the adjoining office. He knew better than to argue with Leia now. She had that look in her eye, pure determination. This was a battle he could not win. And she was right of course; there was much to be done. Applications would have to be sent, and soon, to nearly every corner of the Galaxy. The palace would have to be readied to welcome thirty-five new guests, events would have to be planned, stylists and extra maids for each of the Selected would have to be chosen. 

Han was suddenly very glad that he would not be involved in the process. If he knew anything about Leia, which of course he did, she would want to handpick the maids, see to the rooms, and oversee the initial wardrobe choices for the girls herself.

All these things raced through the mind of the Queen as well, as she donned a simple, high-necked gown in his absence. She allowed herself to feel a glimmer of excitement. She was fascinated by the old practice of the Selection, and had a feeling, deep in her gut, that this would be good for Ben. And, if she was being honest with herself, she thought it would be great fun. The thought of having thirty-five young girls in the palace, competing for her son’s hand in marriage no less, was a daunting one to say the least, but it would bring new life and laughter to the castle again, and to the people in a dreary time. And she was rather excited about the thought of having a daughter-in-law, Lord willing. If Ben didn’t send them running on the first day. 

He certainly wouldn’t be excited about the idea. He could barely handle the idea of one strange woman in the castle, as evidenced by his history with female guests, let alone thirty-five. He would have to be on his best behavior, at least, as much of the competition would be televised. Leia hoped this would be the case, anyway. And she was going to make it crystal clear that this would be his last chance at assuming his royal responsibilities. She and Han had let him abandon his duties for far too long, and it was time for him to grow up.

Yes, the more Leia thought about the Selection, the more it felt like the right course of action, though she hated to back Ben into a corner like this, even if he was trying the very last of her patience.

 _Well at the very least, Lina will be excited at the idea of having some girls around. They won’t be too much older than her, I’m sure. And I’m sure there will be much flirting from Poe, not that that will be much different than usual,_ Leia thought.

Poe was her younger son, charming and easy-going, but aggravatingly cocky and hot-headed at times. Not being the first in the line of succession, Poe enjoyed the more relaxing side of royal life, and he didn’t let anyone forget it. Ben was jealous of that fact, Leia knew, but the brothers were very close all the same, a fact that their mother was very relieved to know. At nineteen, only one year younger than Ben, he would have to start thinking of his own marriage prospects soon, but that would have to wait for now.

At the end of the line, was Lina, Han and Leia’s only daughter. She was sweet, and her beauty was known throughout the planets, but she had also inherited her mother’s temper, and her father’s quick wit, meaning she was a force to be reckoned with. If Ben didn’t scare the Selected away, Lina certainly might. Leia had no doubt she would voice her opinions, quite loudly, about which of the women she liked, and which she didn’t.

The Selection certainly wasn’t going to be a boring time for the castle.

* * *

Han and Leia's Royal Council of Advisors was primarily made up of the oldest friends of the King and Queen, who were none too excited to be awoken in the middle of the night for an "emergency" meeting. Holos flickered to life as Leia prepared to begin the meeting. 

"I must apologize first, for dragging you from your beds, but Han and I have thought of a solution to Ben's...aversion to being married off."

"No offense, your Majesty, but aversion is putting it lightly. And we all know that Ben _must_ marry, so he simply must get over it," Admiral Amilyn Holdo cut in.

"Of course, Admiral Holdo, he will marry. But we've though of a more unconventional way to bring it about. A way that will give him a modicum of choice in the matter."

Leia paused, waiting for any more interruptions. When there were none, she continued, "Han and I have come to the conclusion that a Selection is our last hope."

She said it matter-of-factly, and clasped her hands in front of her, almost daring anyone to argue with her.

It was Mon Mothma who was brave enough to speak first, "A Selection? Your majesty, it is quite the antiquated practice. I doubt many of the common people would even know what the Selection is. Besides, with the growing threat of the First Order, I do not think it wise to plan such a massive event. We need to focus on keeping the Republic secure."

Leia was nodding as he spoke, "I understand that, but this could be the perfect distraction for our people. They are worried, Senator Mothma, and I think this is the way to ease that worry, even as we are fighting the First Order from behind the scenes. The Selection is an enormous undertaking for sure, but it doesn't mean the we stop ruling the Republic."

There was a long pause as the Council considered Leia's argument. She knew they weren't convinced, but they trusted her to make the best decision for her people, and her family. And they knew she wouldn't be quick to change her mind once she decided on something. One by one, they nodded their assent. 

Leia's face broke into a broad smile and she clapped her hands together, "Now, the logistics are going to be a nightmare. The first thing we need to do is send out applications, and we need to do it soon. The second thing..."

And so the meeting continued through the rest of the night. By the end, the Council had divided the planets into sectors, and applications would be put into baskets according to the sector they arrived from, and they would be pulled randomly from each basket, to ensure fairness and equality. They had prepared a rough outline of the application, which Leia would perfect and send out en masse within the week. Finally, they talked through the general outline of the competition, deciding that the women would arrive three weeks from the night of the meeting, which would mean the castle would be a whirlwind of preparations from now right up until the first Selected stepped through the palace doors. Events were tentatively scheduled, though Ben would be entirely in charge of how quickly the process went.

When the holos finally flickered off, a bleary-eyed Leia and Han shuffled to their chambers and collapsed into bed.

Leia's mind was racing with all of the things she would have to do in the upcoming weeks. Rooms would have to be prepared, dresses would have to be made, menus would have to be planned. It was exhausting to just think about.

A voice broke Leia from her revelry, “One condition.”

Leia looked at Han, who had lifted his head from his pillow to look at her with a roguish smirk on his face.

“I’m not telling the kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope anyone reading this enjoyed the first chapter! A lot of this may not be canon, like the addition of Lina, the fact that I made Poe a Solo, and the structure of the government, but it is an AU after all, and the world has to fit with the story I’m cooking up! Ben is also much younger in this story, at 20. Poe is 19, and Lina is 16. And, if you've read the Selection, you may have noticed that I changed the age range of the girls as well. Thanks again for reading, and get ready for the next chapter, because we get to see our dear Ben’s reaction to his parents’ scheme and we get to meet some of our Selected, including a certain desert girl who’s certain she’ll get kicked out on the first day...


	2. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia breaks the news to Ben and he forms a plan. On Jakku, Unkar Plutt is a jerk and Rey enters the Selection, forming a plan as well.

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 2

_Revelations_

Far, far away from the grand palace on Coruscant, a young girl stalked across the sands of Jakku, blissfully unaware that the King and Queen had just made a decision, a week prior, that would change the course of her fate. Her head was wrapped in thin cloth to protect her lightly tanned skin from the blistering heat that never seemed to abate during the long daylight hours on the desert planet, with only a pair of goggles with large, round frames peeking out from the headwear. Her clothes were worn, a tunic made of little more than rags cinched at the waist by a thin belt, thrown over a pair of baggy trousers made of the same material. The outfit, once almost white, was faded to near grey with age. The cloth of the tunic, the sides of which crossed to form an X over her chest, fluttered in the breeze that didn’t seem to do anything to cool her burning skin, and the wayward strands of hair that had escaped from the three buns styled in a line down her head curled at the nape of her neck with sweat. 

  
She’d been scavenging for most of the day, rooting through the skeletons of long-abandoned starships that had crashed in what was now appropriately named the ‘Starship Graveyard’. The airspace above the Graveyard on Jakku had been the site of a famous battle between the Galactic Empire and the New Republic. Both sides had suffered major losses, and the ground was littered with parts and the carcasses of massive Star Destroyers stuck out of the sand like great, metal mountains, the grey stark against the tan sand. The hollowed-out structures would probably seem eerie to most others, but to scavengers like the slightly built woman who was rappelling into the belly of the starship Ravager, they were the only means of survival in the unforgiving desert. The Ravager would be her last pit stop for the day. Soon the sun would sink below the horizon, the heat replaced with leeching cold. 

  
She landed softly, the impact of her feet causing an echo to run down the length of the abandoned ship. She slipped through the ruins like a shadow, occasionally stopping to shove a spare part into the bag that was haphazardly slung across her slender shoulders. The pickings were slim today, she knew, and they were getting slimmer every day. There would come a day, and soon, when this life could no longer sustain her, and she shuddered at the thought of what she would have to do to merely keep herself alive. Her mind flashed to shady dealings in the seedier parts of Jakku’s marketplace that she’d always turned a blind eye to. Nevertheless, she could barely even think of leaving the planet that had become her prison, a death sentence even. Not only did she not have money to pay for passage, or a ship to escape, but she still clung to the hope that her family would return someday.

  
Rey, just Rey, no surname, had been living on Jakku for what seemed like her whole life. Her earliest memories were too fuzzy to even remember the people she had called her family. But the memories were there. The memories of people who promised to come back to her. She’d been waiting for almost all of her nineteen years, looking after herself, waiting, always watching the horizon. And she would keep waiting. As long as it took.

* * *

  
Across the galaxy, one week after Han and Leia’s plan had come together, in Coruscant, Ben Solo was wishing his family would disappear. His mother was sitting across from him in the palace’s library, where he’d been relaxing, enjoying some peaceful reading time, when his mother handed him a death sentence. She had a hopeful, yet worried, half smile on her face, but her eyes kept darting from him to the nearest exit as if she was afraid he’d lunge for her throat.

  
And, damnit if he didn’t want to.

  
His hands were clenched in tight fists by his sides and he fought to keep his anger under control, when he finally hissed out, “You want me to _what?!”_

  
Leia could see that he was seething, and cursed Han silently for making her do this.

  
“It’s not a _want_ , Ben. You _are_ going to have a Selection. This isn’t a request. This is an order from your mother and your Queen. You have been acting like you own this place for _far_ too long, and it’s time you accepted your place as heir to this throne.”

  
She was almost pleading with him, begging him to just do things the easy way and agree for once.

  
_What a pretty speech_ , Ben thought, _wonder how long she’s been practicing that one._

  
“Fine then, _my Queen_ ,” he choked out through gritted teeth, “I’ll have a Selection. But there’s nothing you can do to stop me from sending them all home in the same way got rid of those air-headed, spineless princesses you tried to set me up with. In fact, I’ll have them all _begging_ for me to send them home and that is a promise.”

  
He finished his tirade with a smirk, clearly pleased with his performance. Leia Organa loved her eldest son with every fiber of her being, but at this moment she wanted to slap that smirk right off of his face. He looked entirely too much like his father when he gave her that look, and it only fueled her anger.

  
She was very pleased with herself when her next words wiped that smug look from his face and replaced it with shock, “You will not do anything except play the dutiful, kind-hearted prince looking to find his Queen, or I will remove you from the line of succession myself. And _that_ is a promise.”

  
Ben gulped. He wasn’t afraid of many things, but his mother was certainly one of them. She certainly didn’t make idle threats. He let the idea of a Selection roll around in his mind. It was ridiculous of course, but it would be fairly easy to ‘play the part’, as his mother had so kindly suggested. He could present himself as a lonely prince looking for love, let the absurd event carry on long enough to seem like he’d actually tried to find a wife among the rabble that would be welcomed to the palace, and then he’d drop them all. Hell, if he happened to find one that he could tolerate being around, he might even marry her, if only to placate his parents, and pop out an heir someday, but he doubted that would be the case. 

  
The women who would arrive at the castle would no doubt be like all the other women his parents had tried to marry him off to: brainless, spineless, and desperate. Desperate to marry up, despite their own royalty, desperate to please him. He couldn’t stand it. He didn’t want a woman who would fall all over herself trying to impress him. There was scarcely anything he hated more than that. In fact, he didn’t want to marry at all. As the heir to the Galactic Republic, he would have to, of course, but he didn’t have to like it.   
He ran an irritated hand through his hair.

  
“Fine,” he spat, “Since it seems I have no say in the rest of my life, I suppose I’ll do it.”

  
Leia suppressed a sigh.

  
_My son, the drama queen_ , she thought. 

  
She just hoped he could hold it together long enough to trick some poor woman into marrying him.

  
“How long is it to be until my peace and quiet is replaced by incessant babbling and women tripping all over themselves to impress me?” Ben asked in a sickeningly fake, pleasant voice.

  
Leia could practically see the sarcasm dripping from his mouth, as if it was a tangible thing that could be seen or felt.

  
She swiftly arose from her seat across from him, her long, royal blue dress sweeping across the floor as she went. 

  
It was only when she was halfway out the door when she would risk squeaking, “Two weeks.”

  
Ben Organa-Solo saw red, and his mother heard a book thud into the ground behind her, landing just short of where her son had aimed. 

  
He’d never hated his mother. He’d felt pushed aside, even neglected sometimes when she and Han would be busy ruling the Galaxy, but he’d never harbored feelings of hatred. Right now, was the closest he’d ever been. 

  
“Don’t blame me, darling, your father agreed!” Leia’s voice called down the hall back to him.

  
He slumped back into the cushion of the chair he’d been sitting in and dropped his head into his hands. Two weeks?! He couldn’t fathom how this had happened so quickly. Just last week, his parents had tried to set him up with the princess from Mon Cala. The one with the eyes that were impossibly far apart. Unfortunately, that was all he could remember about her. He surmised that that incident had been the last straw, so his parents must have only begun to arrange this last week. Now that he thought of it, the palace had been busier than usual, especially on the third floor, where rooms were usually prepared for... _guests._

  
He groaned aloud at the realization, slamming his hands onto the small table in front of him. The more he thought, the more he remembered that strange things had been happening around the castle in the past week. There was an influx of servants, for one. Ben was pretty friendly with the staff, presumably because they were some of the only people who didn’t want anything from him, and he knew most of them by name. However, recently he’d been confused by how many maids he had passed in the hallway that were unfamiliar to him. And he’d seen several of them with gowns draped over their arms and scurrying like porgs with their heads chopped off. He had found these things strange, of course, but never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that The Selection was to blame. He’d only ever read about it, and only in passing. He outwardly cringed at the thought of having thirty-five girls invading his home, his space, all expecting to be the next Queen of the Republic. He wanted to vomit.

  
Well, this is going to be hell.

* * *

Back on Jakku, Rey was thinking the exact same thing. 

  
She’d just finished hauling her findings back to Niima Outpost. She very ungracefully dumped her haul onto the counter of one Unkar Plutt. He was the man she sold her spare parts to, and for little more than portions of food. That’s what the people of Jakku lived for, not money, not possessions, but portions. Plutt was a cruel, ugly Crolute, who had all but enslaved Rey after her parents had left. He was another reason she could never leave Jakku. Truth be told, she was afraid of him. She saw the women he forced into a different kind of slavery, and as soon as she was rendered useless as a scavenger, that’s where she would end up. That was a fate she’d avoid at almost any cost.

  
“What you’ve brought me today is worth, _hmm_ , one quarter portion.”

  
Rey let her mouth fall open in shock. That wasn’t even close to what her haul was worth, and Plutt knew it. 

  
“ _But_. For entering the Selection, I will give you sixty portions.”

  
He piled the portions high on the table, and Rey couldn’t help but reach her arms out to gather the precious loot into her arms. Then, the full weight of what he had said hit her and she paused.

  
“The _what?”_ she questioned.

  
“The Selection my girl,” he droned, “thirty-five women compete go to the castle to win the heart of our dear prince, Ben.”

  
It would have taken someone deaf to not hear the sarcasm in his voice. Her eyes, which had been trained on the portions, flicked up to Plutt’s face so fast she thought her head would spin. She could feel the panic welling up in her chest. She couldn’t leave Jakku. What if her parents came back? She didn’t want to marry a prince. She didn’t want to marry anyone. This world was much too cruel to bring a family into. She knew that better than anyone.

  
Plutt seemed to know what was running through her mind, “Oh Rey. You _do_ know your parents aren’t coming back, right? They _sold_ you to me, girl. For _drinking money.”_

  
He had a sick tone of pleasure in his voice, like he enjoyed shattering the hope she’d let build up over the years.

  
She felt the stinging behind her eyes and an empty feeling in her chest, but willed herself not to cry. She hadn’t cried in years, and she wasn’t going to let Plutt see her do it now. In a way, Plutt had just confirmed her worst fears, and the suspicions she’d kept buried for almost a decade. Her head swam, and she heard his next words as if she was underwater.

  
“And since I _own_ you, and it’s finally all out on the table now, you _are_ going to enter the Selection. And you’re going to send all those pretty compensation credits to me.”

  
He swept the portions off of the counter and slammed an application down, indicating that this was no longer a deal where both of them would profit. She would get no more portions than she was owed for her scavenging, and she would get none of the money that was apparently awarded to those who competed in the Selection. It was a demand. Rey swallowed and shook her head to clear the feeling of dizziness that was beginning to set in. She knew she had to do whatever Plutt said, especially now that she had found out that he quite literally owned her. She didn’t want to think about what the consequences would be if she didn’t obey his demands. All she knew is that it would be a hell of a lot worse than climbing into the ruins of old starships. 

  
Instead of letting the panic overtake her, she let herself go numb, knowing that the full weight of what Plutt had told her would hit later, when she was alone. With shaking hands, she plucked the application from the counter and took the pen from his meaty hand. She made to leave, wanting to be alone with her thoughts, but Plutt’s deep voice stopped her.

  
“I want to see you fill it out. _Now._ ”

  
He didn’t trust her to fill it out, she guessed.

  
With a huff, she began to scrawl on the application. She stopped on the first blank. 

  
_Full name_.

  
For her entire life, she’d only been Rey. Just...Rey. No middle name, no anything except Rey. 

  
I can’t even fill in one damn blank on this application. How does Plutt think I’m going to charm the prince when I can’t get past the first part of this? He has to be fooling himself, or probably just blinded by his own greed.

  
Suddenly, Rey’s head cleared. She almost laughed out loud. She couldn’t get past the first blank. She probably wouldn’t even get chosen to go to the palace. She was nothing, she came from nothing. There’s no way anyone would let her within a light year of the castle. Even if, by some miracle, she was chosen for this “Selection”, the prince would take one look at the dirty rags she called clothes, and the dirt that seemed to never leave her cheeks, and send her packing, right back to Jakku. Plutt would be appeased, and she would be back home in no time, no matter how dismal that home was. It was perfect. She would hate every minute of it, but it would be worth the pain.

  
She filled out the rest of the paper, filling in details about her appearance, such as her height, weight, eye color and hair color. She jotted down her talents, which included climbing and fighting with her staff, but little else. She was proud to report that she spoke several languages. She added her last name in as "Niima". It was the best thing she could think of at the moment.

  
The last step in the application process was to have her picture taken. The picture would be sent electronically to the King and Queen, and the winning applicants would be shown on a broadcast in a week’s time, and a week after that, they’d be in the castle. Rey had never had her picture taken in her whole life. A woman sent from Coruscant was set up near the center of the outpost, and after handing her application back to Plutt, Rey unwound the cloth around her head and peeled the goggles off of her face, revealing tired green eyes and a dusting of freckles across a tanned face. She wiped the sweat and sand from her brow, walked to stand in front of the camera, and forced the best smile that she could. It was the kind of smile someone had when they were hiding a secret. It would be her little secret that if she was chosen, she’d be trying her hardest to get kicked out, without being too obvious and risking the wrath of Plutt, of course.  
But then, as she thanked the woman who took her picture, Rey realized that, if she was chosen, she would be stuck in the palace with thirty-five other women, who all thought she would be there to fight them for the prince. She’d be forced into dresses, makeup, and, God forbid, probably high heels. And on top of that, a prince who thought she was there to fall at his feet. She wanted to vomit. It was going to be hard to keep up the pretense that she was there for the right reasons. But she had to do it. She had to do it for the same reason she had ever done anything in her entire life on Jakku. To survive. 

  
Not knowing that his highness, Prince Ben Solo, was thinking exactly the same thing in that moment, one singular thought formed in her head, repeating itself over and over in a loop.

  
_This is going to be hell._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so maybe I lied about meeting some of the other Selected this chapter, it was going to be wayyy too long, so next chapter! Thank you to everyone reading and thank you to everyone who left kudos or commented! Let me know what you think and see you next chapter!


	3. Ceremonies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet some new, but familiar, characters, who will be spending quite a lot of time with Rey, Ben gets to see his Selected for the first time, and Rey finds out she's about to be shipped off to the castle.

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 3

_New Beginnings_

  
A week after the revelations of both the prince and a mysterious woman on Jakku, the entirety of the Galactic Republic was gearing up to watch the announcement of the Selected. Every woman who sent in an application was both dreading and looking forward to the Special Report later in the evening. It would be broadcasted on the HoloNet at 1800 hours sharp, and almost everyone in the Republic would be tuning in. Cantinas, restaurants, casinos would all be full with those who didn’t have access to the HoloNet at home. That’s what Han and Leia were hoping would happen, at least. 

The preparations at the palace were mostly complete. The menus were planned, the extra staff was hired, and thirty-five identical rooms had been set aside in a block on the third floor. The maids had prepared the beds with freshly cleaned sheets, the connecting bathrooms had been outfitted with every kind of soap and conditioner and scrub imaginable, and the mostly unused rooms had been dusted and mopped until they were spotless. After tonight’s report, the final stages of preparation would begin. After the identities of the Selected were announced, Han and Leia would match a team of maids to each woman, based on the information in their applications. These maids would be with them for the entirety of their experience at the palace. They would design and make dresses for the Selected, help them with makeup and hair, and basically provide them with anything else they might need. Tonight, they would finally know who they would be spending the foreseeable future with, and after they had seen their pictures and read the applications to get a feel for the personality of their Selected, they could begin designing their first gowns. 

Rose Tico, a freshly hired maid, and her sister, Paige, were thinking of this while sweeping through some of the rooms on the third floor, checking to make sure everything was in order for the arrivals next week. Paige had been working in the castle for a long time and had helped Rose get her foot in the door. To their surprise, Rose had been assigned upstairs immediately, which was rare. Newer maids usually started in the kitchens, and it was seen as a great honor to work upstairs. Upstairs maids were viewed as the authority, and the Queen's maids were basically royalty themselves. All the maids who'd been assigned to the Selection couldn't help but imagine themselves in that position, because a lucky few of them would be someday, if their girl won.

“I hope I get a redhead,” Paige said in a voice just above a whisper, “They look so good in green, and you know that’s my favorite color.”

“Well, I hate to burst your bubble,” Rose chuckled, “but I hope _we_ get a brunette. They look good in everything! If our girl is a redhead, we’ll constantly have to worry about whether our designs will clash with her hair. If we get a brunette, we can put her in pretty much every color, but if we get a redhead we'll have to put her in blue or green every day, and that would get boring _real_ quick."

Rose and Paige knew they would be assigned to the same woman, but they hadn’t met their third team member yet. The King and Queen had suddenly found themselves short of staff when they realized that each Selected would need a team of maids, so they'd been furiously hiring new people for a whole week, but the Tico sisters _still_ had no idea who they would have to spend their time working with for the foreseeable future.

Paige stuck her tongue out at her sister, “What’s the fun in it if we don’t have a bit of a challenge?”

“Dressing, styling, and basically babysitting a woman who may become our future Queen is challenge enough on its own.”

Paige gave her sister a shocked expression, looking around nervously to make sure no one had heard her complaining. It was a privilege just to work upstairs, and especially to be assigned to something as important as the Selection. She didn’t want her impulsive sister ruining it for them.

  
Rose seemed to pick up on her sister’s nervousness, because she added hastily, “Not that I’m not looking forward to it! It’s just a lot of pressure. I mean, what if she doesn’t like us? What if she goes home on the first day?”

  
Paige laughed, “No matter what happens, Rosie, it’ll work out. I’m sure whoever it is will be great, and she’ll have to like us, or we’ll make her dresses out of itchy fabric or something right before she goes on a date with the prince.”

  
Rose looked warmly at her sister before bursting into a fit of giggles. She was imagining the prince talking to a woman that couldn’t stop fidgeting because her dress was itchy. She knew Paige would never do that, because she was always so serious and dedicated in her service to the royal family, but it was certainly amusing to imagine.

  
“What do you think it’ll be like, Paige? Having thirty-five women in the palace all fighting for the same thing?”

  
“I really don’t know Rose. It depends on what kind of women have been chosen, I guess. I’m sure we’ll have some really genuine girls here, but there’s no doubt that we’ll have some that are only here because they want to be famous, or because they want to be Queen. It’s those girls that will sour the whole thing.”

  
“Ugh,” Rose groaned in response, “What if we get one of those?”

  
“We just do our jobs, I suppose, but we can just hope that we don’t,” Paige shrugged.

  
Rose couldn’t imagine how Paige was so calm about this. They had no idea what kind of woman they would be stuck with. But then again, Paige was always calm. Nothing seemed to shake her. She was Rose’s rock, and Rose brought some excitement and spontaneity to Paige’s life. They were the perfect duo.

“I guess so. At least we won’t have to wait for much longer. It’s already 1500 hours!”

  
The two sisters shared an excited smile. Tonight was going to be the start of something amazing, they just knew it.

* * *

On the floor above the two sisters, the royal family stood in meeting room, surrounded by cameras. In front of them stood a long table, and on top of the table stood a long line of huge baskets, filled to the brim with envelopes. Thirty-five baskets for thirty-five women. Ben thought he would puke. He was feeling that a lot lately. In just a few moments, he would be plucking an envelope from each basket. The envelopes contained the pictures and applications of the women who would be invading the third floor of the palace in exactly a week. He would pass the envelopes to Han and Leia, who would open them, analyze their contents, and place each girl in a room, with a team of maids. Ben wouldn’t see their pictures until later, when his reactions would be broadcasted live on the HoloNet.

Yeah, he was pretty sure he was going to be sick. 

  
Leia turned to the cameras to address the nation. This “Choosing Ceremony”, as they were calling it, would be broadcasted in one week with the highlights of the Selection that had occurred during that time. Highlights would be broadcasted every Friday night until the end of the Selection, along with special events. 

  
“First of all, I would like to thank the people of the Galactic Republic for tuning in to such a joyous occasion for us. Tonight, we will be looking at the faces of the women who we will be welcoming into the palace next week—one of which will be your next Queen. We are all very excited to be bringing back the tradition of the Selection, and we are confident that our Ben will come out of it with the love of his life, and his future Queen.”

  
Ben, knowing his reactions were being recorded, only just managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. He could practically hear the sighs of the poor romantic saps around the Republic. His mother was just as bad. He never would have imagined she'd get so sentimental in her old age. Not that she was _old_ , but Ben liked to act like she was because it got on her nerves. That, or she was playing a part, just like he was. Now that he thought about it, he doubted his mother was really sentimental about him falling in love, she just wanted him married so he could provide an heir for the throne. Typical of her to be nice when she wanted something.

  
“In order to show fairness and equality, we divided the planets in our republic into thirty-five sectors. Ben, who will be making a lot of choices about these women in the coming weeks, makes his first choices tonight. Ben,” she dipped her head toward him, signaling that it was time.

  
He tried to control his shaking hands as he approached the basket labelled ‘ _One_ ’.

  
Remembering that he had the role of the charismatic prince to play, Ben made a show out of plunging his hand deep into the basket and rifling around. He sent a crooked smile and a wink toward one of the cameras, flashing them the envelope before dropping it the basket that Leia was holding behind him. She gave him an encouraging smile. 

  
To the people of the Republic, Ben was sure they would look like the perfect family. Lina and Poe stood back with Han, sharing conspiratorial smiles every time Ben chose an envelope. Apparently, everyone was looking forward to the Selection except for the person that really mattered—the one who would have to choose a wife at the end of all of this.

  
Finally, Ben reached the last basket. He honestly couldn’t remember how he got here. The entire ceremony had been a blur, and soon he was dropping the final envelope in Leia’s basket.

Thirty-five plain white envelopes now sat in it, mocking him. Their contents would change his life, and he didn’t even get to see them yet. He didn’t really hear Leia thank the people of the Republic and remind them to tune in at 1800 hours to see who had been chosen, but soon he realized that he was being swept towards his room by a very excited Lina and Poe. It was 1600 hours.

* * *

  
“Ben why can’t you be more excited by this? You are literally going to be surrounded by beautiful women who are going to be fighting over you,” Poe asked him in a tone that told Ben he couldn’t believe it.

  
“If you’re so excited about it, Poe, then I would be glad to let you take my place.”

  
Lina looked at him out of the corner of her eyes in annoyance, “Don’t be such a child, Ben. You know you have to do this. It’s your duty. So why not make the most of it? I mean, historically it has a great record. Who knows, you might even fall in _looooove_.”

  
Ben lightly shoved her, chuckling, when she shook her shoulders at him and winked. 

  
“Oh please, Lina. That has _got_ to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And I’ve had to hear a lot of dumb things come out of that one’s mouth.”

  
He jerked a thumb toward Poe, who dawned a hurt look and put a hand on his chest.

  
“Ben. You wound me,” he replied.

  
They all shared a laugh and continued in companionable silence until they reached Ben’s room. Ben wished it could be like this all the time. It was so easy to be himself when it was just the three of them. No royal duties, no governesses, no overbearing parents. No women being thrown at him. And it would all come crumbling down in exactly one week. How was he even supposed to act around them all? He'd never had the chance to properly date one women, let alone thirty-five, all of which would be living in his house. How was he supposed to narrow it down to one? These questions pushed him to find a way out, and soon.

  
He was lost in these thoughts as Lina and Poe tore through his closet, tossing ties in his direction. Usually, his valet would be helping him dress and get ready for an event like tonight, but he had wanted to spend it with his siblings. They had already decided on a classic white shirt under a navy-blue suit jacket. They were much more fashion-forward than Ben. If he had it his way, he'd be wearing black, head-to-toe, every day. It was easier that way, no need to worry about which ties matched, or if his shoes would clash. He would never understand how his mother and Lina dealt with having to wear gowns, heels, jewelry, and makeup to make public appearances. He was thankful to be able to get dressed and just go.

  
“What do you think Ben—classic tie or bowtie? Poe thinks a bowtie is more daring, but _I_ think you can never go wrong with a classic," Lina was holding up two ties.

  
“Hmm,” Ben said thoughtfully, “Classic for tonight, I think. I’ll save the daring outfits for when the girls are actually here.”

  
In truth, he didn’t really care, but Lina was so happy that she got to be a part of this that he couldn’t let her down by being crabby. He was going to be pretending for a while, so why not start now? After all, it was his family that would really have to buy it. They would be watching closely, waiting for him to mess it up. If his parents suspected at all that he was trying to weasel his way out of it, they'd pull the plug for sure, putting him back at square one. The women, in comparison, would be easy to trick. They wanted to believe that he was going to fall in love with one of them, so they would.

  
Poe and Lina bickered over his tie for a while, before finally tossing him a wine colored, burgundy tie. His favorite color. He dressed quickly in the bathroom, smoothing his jacket, but leaving his tie untied. Lina had always liked to tie it for him, even when she was little, and it was kind of a tradition of theirs. Thankfully, she had gotten marginally better at it over the years. 

  
“Are you nervous, Ben?” she said quietly as she was tightening his tie. 

“No, of course not. Why would I be nervous?”

  
His voice cracked a little, and she gave a knowing smile.

  
“Uh, I dunno,” Poe chimed in, “maybe because you’re going to be choosing your future wife over the next few weeks? I mean, what if none of them like you? Because I think that could be a real possibility.”

  
Lina chucked a pillow from the small couch Ben was sitting on in his direction. She stood behind him, combing a small amount of gel into his hair. 

  
“Very funny, though I think it’s much more likely that _I_ won’t like any of _them_ ,” Ben countered.

  
“You know, I think you may be right about that,” Poe chuckled, remembering all the women that Ben had sent crying from the royal dining room.

They teased him, but the thought that none of them would like him had crossed his mind before, several times. Not that it mattered, of course, he had no intentions of actually finding his wife. 

  
“Well, Ben. Poe and I had better go get ready ourselves,” Lina called from where she was washing the gel off of her hands, “You know mom will eat us alive if we’re late.”

  
Ben just nodded, knowing she was right but not wanting them to go. 

  
Poe clapped him on the back and Lina hugged him tightly on their way out, and then Ben was alone with his thoughts. He glanced at his watch nervously. It was 1700 hours.

  
_Oh kriff, I don’t think I can do this._

* * *

Back on the desert planet of Jakku, Rey stood nervously by the door of a seedy cantina in Niima Outpost, just inside. The place was packed and it was very, very loud. It smelled like sweat and booze, which left Rey nauseous and wishing for fresh air. She wasn’t even sure why she was here. There was no way her picture would appear on the Special Report tonight. She didn’t even know why she cared whether it did or didn’t. And yet, here she was, pressed against the wall at the back of the cantina, ignoring the leers of strange men and occasionally calling out a greeting to someone she recognized. Rey didn’t have any friends, but she did recognize some of the people who frequented Plutt’s booth, other scavengers.

  
She had almost decided to leave when the screens in the cantina flashed to life. The royal family was seated in chairs on a small stage, which she guessed was in the palace. Rey had never seen them before. Queen Leia and King Han sat straight-backed on the right side of the stage, their children seated in a line to their left, except for who she presumed was Prince Ben. He sat in front of the rest of his family, across from a man who introduced himself as Cassian Andor, ‘Master of Ceremonies’.

  
The Queen was who Rey’s gaze was drawn to first. She was extraordinarily beautiful, even in her older age. Her dark hair was twisted into intricate braids which were bound into a bun on top of her head. A crown sat in front of it. Rey absentmindedly touched a hand to her hair, wondering if her hair, which she thought was perpetually sandy and rather dull, could ever look as grand as the Queen’s. 

  
_Probably not_ , she thought dryly.

  
The man at her side was every bit as handsome as she’d heard. He seemed more relaxed than the Queen, and there was a roguish smile on his face. Rey guessed it was an expression that graced his handsome features often. Next to him was the youngest prince, who was quite dashing, and had the same mischievous glint in his eyes as his father. Last in the row was the princess, whose beauty rivaled her mothers. She had the same dark hair as Leia, though her hair was twisted into a half-up style, and a small tiara graced her head. It was probably more expensive than anything Rey could even imagine owning, and still paled in comparison to the Queen’s crown.

  
Finally, her eyes rested on Prince Ben. He was remarkably handsome, in a way that was different from his father. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why. He had deep brown eyes and a strong nose that sat above a pair of full, pink lips. He held a serious expression, and Rey didn’t know how, but she could tell that he was nervous. He certainly didn’t look nervous, with his perfect posture and his chin held high, but somehow, she just knew he was.

  
He was addressing the camera, “I want to thank the people of the Republic for supporting me in this journey to find my future wife. To everyone watching, it is a huge honor and privilege for me to participate in a long-forgotten tradition, and I hope to be an example for generations to come.”

  
His voice was deep and pleasant, almost mesmerizing.

  
“Without further ado, the reason that you are all watching this, because I know you aren’t here to listen to me talk. Let’s meet the women I’ll be choosing my future Queen from, together.”  
A picture flashed on the screen. The woman was a petite, blonde thing with dark eyes and a wide smile. She was beautiful.

  
“Kaydel Connix from D’Qar,” Cassian’s voice sang.

  
The prince was smiling pleasantly, his expression guarded and unreadable.

  
Another picture replaced Kaydel’s. It was another blonde, though her hair was almost white. She had blue eyes and her mouth was set in a closed-mouth smirk.

  
The prince shot a wink at the camera.

  
“Ahsoka Tano from Shili.”

  
A third picture appeared, and Rey wiped her clammy hands on her leggings. 

  
“Qi’ra Clarke from Corellia.” 

  
Qi’ra was tanned, with shoulder length dark hair and a playful smile.

  
The prince’s mouth quirked into a crooked grin.

  
Rey’s eyes were torn from the screen when a drunken Crolute shoved past her to exit the cantina.

  
“Rey Niima from Jakku,” the voice boomed.

  
The bar seemed to go silent. Rey’s head jerked up to see her picture disappearing from the screen, only to be replaced by a picture of a beautiful, dark-skinned woman who had fixed the camera with a serious expression, no smile. It was suddenly very hot in the crowded room, Rey, who'd never felt claustrophobic in her life, felt a crushing weight settle on her shoulders. She had to get outside.

  
Rey missed the other woman's name, because she was busy running out the door of the cantina. She collapsed onto a bench outside and ran two nervous hands over her face, her heart thudding in her chest. She had known there was a chance that this would happen, but she had almost dismissed the idea completely. There were probably thousands of applications sent in from her sector alone.

  
_Why me? I can’t compete with those women_ , she thought, but then shook her head to clear it. 

  
She couldn’t compete with them. She was sure of that, but her plan wasn’t to compete with them anyway. She didn’t want to marry the prince. All she wanted was to appease Plutt and come home to what little she had on Jakku. All she would have to do was not get kicked out on the first day, which shouldn’t be too difficult. Of course, the prince would take one look at her compared to the beautiful women she’d seen, which she’d only seen four of thirty-four, and kick her out immediately. It would be embarrassing to leave on the first day, for sure, but at least she would be back among the familiar sands of Jakku.

  
Rey’s breath quickened. Anxiety was building in her chest. In a week’s time, she’d be on Coruscant. Jakku was all she had ever known. How was she going to survive in the palace? She didn’t have any friends here, so how was she supposed to get along with thirty-four women, the royal family, _and_ the prince? Rey’s mind immediately began to run through everything she found fault in herself for. She was too shy. She was awkward. She was skinny and had freckles and...

  
_Breathe, Rey. Get it together._

  
She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to leave Jakku, but she had to. She couldn’t back out now. She tried to convince herself that there was no sense in worrying about something that was over and done with, but it only worked a little. The uneasy feeling in her stomach wouldn’t go away. 

As she rose from her seat and began the walk to the hollow AT-AT she called home, a realization hit her.

  
She’d missed the prince’s reaction to her picture.

Little did she know, as she readied herself for bed, two sisters in the palace weren’t focusing on her flaws as she was. They were squealing in excitement that she’d been assigned to their team, oohing and aahing over her picture, already planning gowns that would bring out the beautiful green of her eyes and play up the adorable dusting of freckles on her button nose, and anxiously awaiting her arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I'm glad I got to get some of Ben's dynamic with his siblings and introduce Rose and Paige as two of Rey's maids. Thanks for all your kind comments and kudos! As always, let me know what you think and see you next chapter, when Rey and the other women finally arrive at the palace!
> 
> **Also, just for convenience, as you probably noticed with Ahsoka, all of the women in the Selection for this fic are human!


	4. The Glass Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is whisked off to the castle, we meet a lot of new characters, and our favorite couple starts off on the wrong foot. Chaos ensues!

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 4

_The Glass Castle_

It was finally the first day of the Selection, and Han Solo had never seen his wife in such a state. Her hair was flying in every direction, a far cry from her usual, orderly braids and it was all he could do to keep up with her as she flurried through the palace. She was rushing through each of the rooms that the Selected would inhabit in just a few short hours, stopping to adjust a chair here or fluff a pillow there.

“Leia, moving the chairs by half a centimeter isn’t going to make the rooms look any different. Take a breath, woman,” he chided, leaning against the doorframe of the room Leia was currently obsessing over.

Leia shot him a glare, “I just want to make sure everything is perfect. Isn’t there someone else you can bother?”

With that, she swept past him, her shoulder knocking into him and sending him stumbling backward. He couldn’t help but chuckle. It was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Down in the lower levels of the castle, two restless maids were putting the final details on a gown that would be worn in a few short hours by the next possible Queen of the Republic.

Right after the identities of the Selected had been announced on the HoloNet, the poor women had been swarmed by personnel from the castle. They’d been examined by physicians to ensure their health, informed of the rules of the Selection and given a contract to sign, and, most importantly to Rose and Paige Tico, their measurements had been taken to ensure their new wardrobe would fit properly.

“So, you don’t think this gown is...a bit much? I mean, she _is_ from Jakku. Won’t she look like she’s trying too hard?” Paige asked, eyeing her the gown draped on the dress form.

“Absolutely not. Paige, are you completely daft or something?” Rose replied, exasperated with her totally unimaginative sister, “She _has_ to stand out. First impressions are everything, you know. I mean, there are going to be thirty-four other women, all meeting the prince at the same time. He has to remember her above the rest, and the gown is _obviously_ the first step.”

She gave her sister a look that said, _‘duh’_ , and squinted to focus on the beading she was sewing onto the dress in front of her.

“Now you sound like someone who knows what she’s talking about,” a musical voice rang from behind the Tico sisters.

Paige jumped and whirled around to face the voice and Rose threw a sheet over the dress, eager to protect it from the prying eyes of another girl’s maids. A petite woman with fiery red hair and a smattering of freckles was hovering in the doorway of their design room, an amused look on her face.

“If you wanted to hide the dress, you _probably_ should have hidden the sketch that’s kind of right next to it,” she laughed, pointing to the sketch set up on an easel next to the dress form.

Rose’s face turned red with embarrassment and she quickly flipped the sketch around on, concealing it from view, “If you’re trying to spy on us to get a leg up on Rey then you can turn around and walk away.”

The woman laughed harder, struggling to get her words out, “Oh maker, I’m so sorry, I probably should have introduced myself. I’m Beatrice, but my friends call me Bee-Bee, or just Bea.”

She stuck out her hand, then retracted it awkwardly when neither Rose nor Paige reached to shake it, instead opting to stare suspiciously at her.

“I, uh, should probably have told you who I was, also, um, before barging in on your work—well our work I guess,” she stammered, her earlier confidence melting away, “You see, I’m also assigned to Lady Rey, so I’m not here to spy, I’m part of your team, or whatever you call it.”

Rose and Paige exchanged a startled glance. _This_ is certainly not how they expected to meet the last member of their team, but their looks of shock were soon replaced by wide smiles.

“Welcome to the team, Bea,” they chorused, earning a broad smile from the new addition to their now triplet.

“I _adore_ this gown,” Bea began, “I mean, it’s going to knock the prince dead...but I think it could be even better if you added something like _this_ , here.”

She held up some fabric to the gown, immediately making herself at home with the two sisters.

Rose and Paige exchanged a secret smile.

Bea was going to fit right in.

* * *

_A few days earlier, on Jakku..._

“So, here are some vitamins for you to take, three times daily with your meals,” a harsh looking woman was handing Rey a bottle, pills rattling.

Rey, who had spent the last few hours being poked, prodded, and grilled about her personal life, took the pills absentmindedly, trying to block the woman’s bored tone out.

“Just sign this for me, please,” she drawled, “it’s just a form saying you received the vitamins and agreed to take them.”

Rey scrawled her name across the page, willing the vapid woman to leave her in peace.

“Thank you,” the woman continued, snatching the clipboard from Rey’s hands, “Well, all that’s left is to go over the rules of the Selection with you, then someone will come to take your measurements. After that, you’re done until the send-off.”

With that, she rose from her seat, dusted her skirt off disgustedly, and teetered away in her ridiculous high heels, which sunk into the sand of Niima Outpost with every step. When she reached the transport that carried the swarm of castle staff that had invaded Rey’s life earlier in the morning. She waved someone else in Rey’s direction dismissively, obviously eager to leave Jakku.

Soon, yet another prim and proper woman, hair gelled back into a neat bun, was sitting in front of Rey.

“So, Rey, I’m just going to go over a few rules with you and then we’ll get out of your hair.”

Rey nodded, signaling her to continue.

“First, know that you may leave the palace for any reason, at any time. If you wish to withdraw from the Selection at any point, all you have to do is ask. On the same note, if you are eliminated by the prince, you must leave within 24 hours. Due to the fact that you may have adjustment issues after living in the palace, all the women who are eliminated are offered a permanent residence on Coruscant. From what we’ve learned from studying the Selections of the past, it is our understanding that the women involved often come into quite a bit of fame after, so it may be in your best interest to remain in the capitol in the event that you are eliminated.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Rey said quickly, “I’ll be returning to Jakku.”

The woman gave her a judging look, “Well, you can decide at a later date. I’m just letting you know that it’s an option.”

She cleared her throat and continued, “Anyone found sabotaging or physically harming another Selected will be dismissed immediately, obviously. And finally, you are there for the prince. There are to be no romantic relationships between a Selected and anyone other than the prince, or they will be punished accordingly and dismissed immediately.”

Rey laughed, “Yeah, I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

The woman raised an eyebrow and slid yet another form across the table, “I just need you to sign here, saying that you have been informed of the rules and then someone will take your measurements and we’ll leave you to prepare for the send-off.”

Rey signed and thanked the woman, preparing herself for more poking and prodding.

* * *

_Present day..._

That day felt like a lifetime ago to Rey. She was staring out the window of the small transport ship that had come to take her away from the only home she’d ever known. Jakku had given her nothing but hardships, yet she couldn’t help but feel sad as she watched Niima Outpost disappear from view.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the dusty sands of Jakku had been replaced by the glittering skyscrapers of Coruscant.

Rey was quickly ushered from the transport ship and into a much smaller ship that zoomed across the skies of the capitol, toward the castle. In the short walk from the transport to the speeder, she had already been accosted by cameras and nosy reporters hoping to catch a picture of her to upload to the HoloNet. Somehow, in the confusion, someone on castle staff had shoved a pair of dark-tinted glasses on her face, as if they would conceal her identity from the media.

Rey was confused when they landed farther from the palace’s actual entrance than she expected.

The same woman who had explained the rules for her a few days earlier gave her a once-over as she exited the speeder.

“Oh, you decided to wear...that. Well, play to your roots, I guess,” she tried to sound optimistic, but Rey could her the dismissal in her voice.

She obviously didn’t think Rey would be here for very long.

But then again, Rey didn’t think so either.

“From here you’ll be escorted by a team of guards to the castle. People have been lining up since yesterday to get a glance at you all, so just give them a smile and a wave as you walk by, and you’ll be greeted by your team as soon as you walk through the castle doors.”

She gestured to a group of men standing off to the side and ushered her toward them.

“This is your security team, Lady Rey. They’ll be escorting you to the castle and they will all be stationed around the castle in the days to come, if you should ever need them.”

She shook hands with the three men, whose names she learned were Cal, who was a tall redhead with a serious expression, Finn, a shorter, stockier man than Cal, who had an easy smile, and Obi-Wan, whose eyes were constantly scanning their surroundings.

Rey decided instantly that she would trust these men with her life.

“Well, lads, I suppose we’d better get this show on the road. Shall we?”

Rey gave them all a blinding smile, finding confidence in their easy demeanor. She felt safe with them already.

The speeder had landed so that they were on the backside, shielded from the crowd, so Rey’s security detail fell in behind her as she walked around to face the people of Coruscant.

She wasn’t exactly prepared for how many faces she was met with. The walk to the palace steps wasn’t a long one, but there must have been hundreds, maybe even thousands of people lining both sides of the walkway. She felt very shut in by the crowd that surrounded her on both sides but fought to keep her panic from bubbling to the surface. She forced a smile, took a deep breath and waved.

Soon, she could even say she was enjoying herself. She was so used to being a nobody from Jakku, but here she heard her name being yelled out from the crowd over and over. Soon she was over at the fences that prevented people from flooding the walkway, shaking hands and saying hello. She wasn’t sure where this friendly, fearless Rey had come from, but she hoped she’d stick around.

When she finally reached the entrance of the castle, her cheeks were hurting from holding a smile for so long.

But when the doors of the palace slammed shut behind her, blocking out the cheers of the crowd, she suddenly felt very small. Everything around her seemed giant in comparison to her own body, and yet she still felt claustrophobic in the elegant entryway to the palace. The towering doors opened to a huge foyer, with polished white marble floors and cream -olored walls. Lavish chandeliers hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in soft yellow light. The room housed the largest staircase she had ever seen, which maybe wasn’t saying much, but it was _massive._ Stylish arches accented the stairs and gave the room an over-the-top look. Rey was suddenly acutely aware of her dingy clothing.

She didn’t have long to appreciate the gorgeous room, because she was soon rushed by three, _very_ energetic women who introduced themselves as Rose, Paige, and Beatrice.

“You can call me Bea, if you like, Lady Rey,” she said shyly.

Rey nodded at her, a little overwhelmed at all the new faces. She dismissed her security team, who all three again shook her hand and wished her good luck. Finn, with his easy smile, kissed her hand and reminded her that they would be around if she ever needed them. She hated to see them go, but didn’t have much time to dwell, because she was being herded to another room, yet again, this time by her new maids.

Having maids was quite a new experience for Rey. Aside from the fact that her home on Jakku hardly had room for her to sleep, she wasn’t used to having people around her. She didn’t have any friends back home and had spent the majority of her life just...alone.

“So, the first thing is going to be your makeover,” Paige started and rushed to continue when Rey gave her a startled look, “but we don’t have to change anything you don’t want to change. This is all for you and to help you feel more comfortable here.”

Rey took a deep breath and nodded. She knew this was coming, of course, but she’d only just walked through the doors. If she didn’t already feel overwhelmed, she definitely did when Rose pitched in.

“It’ll also be your first time meeting some of the other women. There are two rooms setup, seventeen women in one and eighteen in the other. Then, you’ll all meet for interviews about your makeovers.”

All Rey could do was nod.

She couldn’t help but stare as they walked down a lengthy corridor. There were arches on either side of the hall, similar to the entryway but on a smaller scale. Statues and vases were spaced throughout the hallway and Rey had to resist the urge to stop and examine each one, but what drew her eyes the most was the domed ceiling, which was a matte white marble with beautiful stonework carved into it.

Her maids giggled when they saw her walking with her eyes glued to the ceiling.

“You get used to it, I promise,” Rose told her.

“Which is certainly a good thing. I tripped a lot when I first came, because I spent so much time staring,” Bea said so seriously that Rey broke into giggles as well.

They were still giggling when they veered right and into a large ballroom. Vanities with towering mirrors lined the walls and the room was full of maids rushing around, styling hair and applying makeup.

It suddenly hit Rey that she was now in the presence of the other Selected women. And several turned to stare at the source of the giggles that now echoed through the room. She could feel her face start to turn red and she wished she’d had other clothes to wear.

Sensing Rey’s embarrassment, Paige ushered her to one of several screens and gave her a silky, pale blue robe to put on while Bea and Rose searched for a vanity to set up their supplies.

“It’s just so we can do your hair and makeup without worrying about you messing it up when you put on your gown.”

Rey thanked her and dressed quickly, rejoining her maids at their newly claimed mirror. Unfortunately for Rey, it was wedged between two others. Only one was occupied, and its owner was having her jet-black hair twisted into an elaborate updo, piled high on her head. Rey thought it looked a little ridiculous, but she smiled at the woman regardless, only to be met with a disgusted glare. She looked Rey up and down, obviously not impressed with what she was seeing.

“That’s Bazine Netal,” Bea whispered in her ear as she swept her long hair back in a low ponytail to keep it out of her face for makeup, “She’s pretty nasty from what I’ve heard. Comes from a very wealthy family here on Coruscant. Very entitled, I’m sure.”

Rey swallowed and tried to get another look at the woman. She caught a glance of the woman’s face in the mirror. She was very beautiful, though she oozed contempt and wore far too much makeup for Rey’s liking. She had that kind of tan that was obviously fake, unlike the tan Rey had earned, sweating under the hot sun above Jakku.

She quickly averted her eyes, afraid that the unpleasant woman would catch her staring.

“Okay Lady Rey, what are you thinking for your makeup? We can go dark, but I would recommend going lighter. Your freckles are adorable, and I think we could really play up the innocent look,” Rose said confidently.

Rey twisted around in her hair to face her maids.

“Please, all of you call me Rey. I don’t think I could ever get used to you calling me anything else. Also, I’ve never worn makeup before, so um, have at it, I guess?”

She saw the three of them exchange a startled glance, as if they couldn’t believe that she’d never worn makeup, but they recovered quickly and jumped into action, turning Rey’s chair around so that her final look would be a surprise.

While Paige set to waxing her eyebrows, _ouch_ , Rose and Bea twisted her hair into different styles, testing which ones would look the best with her face shape. When they’d finally decided on one, Rose rummaged through the drawers of the vanity and pulled out a strange device that Rey had never seen before.

“Um what is _that?”_ Rey questioned, and flinched when it neared her face and she realized it was hot.

Paige who was now applying a light powder to her face had to pull away when she began to laugh.

“It’s a curling iron,” she choked out, “Rose is going to curl your hair with it, so it’ll look better when Bea puts it up.”

Rey smiled shyly, her face heating up, “Oh. It isn’t going to burn my hair is it?”

“No,” Rose assured her, twisting a lock around the barrel, “it isn’t hot enough for that, I promise.”

With that, Rey nodded and made a point not to ask anymore stupid questions as Paige dabbed color onto her cheeks and brushed color onto her eyelids.

Commotion to her left caught her attention, but she couldn’t turn her head to look. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see another woman rushing to sit down at the vanity next to hers. Her maids looked panicked and hurried to begin applying her makeup.

“It’s weird that I can’t look at you to introduce myself, but you seem to be in the same boat, so I guess this is fine. I’m Qi’ra,” the woman said.

Rey laughed, relieved that she had found someone friendly, “I’m Rey.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Rey. Maybe we can talk a bit later, I think these ladies will kill me before I even get to meet the prince if I keep moving.”

“Well we wouldn’t want that,” Rey replied with a warm smile.

She instantly took a liking to Qi’ra. She radiated confidence and her friendly demeanor was a welcome change to Bazine. Maybe it would be nice to make some friends while she was here.

When Rose finished curling her hair, Bea’s nimble fingers replaced the curling iron and twisted her hair into a loose updo that twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck. Loose curls hung around her face and Bea weaved a jeweled band around the bun. With the final sweep of something Paige called ‘mascara’, they twisted Rey’s chair around to face the mirror.

She gasped. Her face was smooth, with a healthy pink color painted on her cheeks, and Paige had left her freckles to peek through the powder on her face. Her eyelids shimmered and her eyelashes had been curled and darkened. A pinkish color had been applied to her lips, with a gloss applied to finish the look.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly, not wanting to ruin the girls’ masterpiece. She’d never felt so beautiful.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Her team of maids just beamed.

“Oh, just wait until you see your gown,” Rose said excitedly, rushing to get it, with Bea following close to her heel.

“Paige I can’t thank you all enough. Even if I leave today, this has been the most incredible experience of my life,” Rey said earnestly.

“Don’t talk like that Lady Rey. You are not going home today. We’ve worked much too hard for that,” Paige teased.

“Just Rey, Paige. Please,” Rey corrected.

“Giving orders already. You’d make a great Queen, Rey,” the girl chuckled.

Rey snorted at that but didn’t reply. Bea and Rose were skipping over with her dress, and Rey knew she was about to be hurried away to one of the screens to change.

Before she was allowed to change, Bea and Rose herded her to a station that had been set up for waxing. The girls waxed her legs, her arms, and her armpits, and after it was all over, Rey felt like she’d been plucked like a Porg.

Her skin was still stinging when she shrugged off her robe and slung it over the top of the screen. She stepped into the silky gown, which was a deep emerald green, and called Rose and Bea in to lace up the back. She held her breath as Bea tugged on the laces and Rose fastened a thin belt around her waist, which was made of jewels to match the band in her hair.

The gown’s cap sleeves hung off the shoulders and displayed her delicate collarbone, and the hemline perfectly hit the floor once she had put a pair of silvery heels on. A slit ran up to her mid-thigh on one side of the skirt and displayed one of her toned legs when she walked.

That is, if she could take a step. Rey wobbled in the unfamiliar footwear and tripped more times than she would ever admit on her way back to the vanity. Paige applied body shimmer to her chest and shoulders, and she was finally done.

“You guys are magicians, I swear,” Rey said in disbelief, standing in front of the full-length mirror near the entrance to the room.

“And this is just the first day. Just wait until you see what we have in store for you,” Rose replied mischievously.

Rey smiled at her team, hoping they would see the infinite gratitude in the expression.

“Well, this is where we leave you, my lady,” Paige told her.

 _I really need them to stop calling me that_ , Rey thought uncomfortably. Maybe they would more readily call her by just her first name when they got more comfortable with her.

“Um, right. So, the interviews are where?” Rey questioned hesitantly, not eager to leave her three new friends and face the cameras.

“Just down the hall and to the left. There’s a sign that says, ‘Women’s Room”, I believe,” Qi’ra’s voice rang from behind Rey, “I just asked my maids the same question.”

She was smiling brightly, her full lips lined with red to match her gown, which hugged her curves beautifully and hung off of one shoulder. It shimmered as she walked over to Rey and linked their arms.

“We can walk together,” she said warmly.

Rey smiled at her and said goodbye to her maids, exiting the room arm-in-arm with Qi’ra.

“That dress is gorgeous. Your maids really outdid themselves,” Qi’ra said pleasantly.

“Oh, they really did. They’re amazing. Yours are too, apparently. You look amazing. I could never pull off something like that,” Rey replied shyly, motioning to her gown.

“Oh, sure you could,” was all Qi’ra said before they had arrived at the Women’s Room.

A short woman with comically large, round glasses met them at the door.

“Names, please,” she said shortly, and handed each woman a name tag after they had introduced themselves.

“Please have a seat over there with the other ladies. Interviews will begin shortly,” the woman motioned to a large seating area, where a huge U-shaped couch with gold trim and cream cushions was wrapped around a stout looking coffee table and chairs were spaced throughout. Splashes of color interrupted the cream of the cushions, where women sat in gowns of all colors.

There were many shades of red and blue. One woman stood out in orange, another in white, which Rey thought was just tacky, but supposed it wasn’t any of her business.

Rey was pleased to see that only a few others were wearing green.

Qi’ra led Rey to sit with a group of two other women, one wearing a red gown with a fluffy skirt that took up far too much room on the couch, the other wearing a royal blue gown with lacy sleeves.

When Rey seemed hesitant, Qi’ra said, “You have to get to know the competition, Rey. See what you’re up against.”

Rey acquiesced, but her brows furrowed at the statement. Is that what Qi’ra saw her as? Competition? She hadn’t expected the politics and cattiness to start so soon.

She learned that the woman in red was called Jannah, and the one in blue was called Jessika.

“So, how do you all feel about meeting the prince today?” Jannah asked nervously.

“When do we even get to do that? I feel like they haven’t told us anything,” Jessika complained.

“I heard it’ll be right after the interviews,” Qi’ra whispered as if it was some big secret.

“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m scared to death to meet him. I heard he’s awful and that the only reason we’re even here is because no one that his parents tried to set up with him would take him,” Jannah lowered her voice to a whisper as well.

“Do you really think so?” Rey gasped, a knot forming in her stomach. It was bad enough that she’d have to deal with rude women, not that she expected to be here long.

“I’m not scared of him,” Qi’ra said haughtily, “if he wants to marry one of us, he has to be nice to us.”

Rey wasn’t so sure, but didn’t voice her doubts aloud, instead opting to cast a glance around the room. It looked like all of the other ladies were finally here. She spotted Bazine chatting with a heavily made-up woman with obviously fake red hair. Both of their gowns’ necklines plunged to what Rey was sure had to be their navels. They were perfect for each other. It was obvious what route they were taking to win the prince over. She thought she remembered that the other woman’s name was Mara. She’d tried to learn everybody’s names from Bea, who’d memorized them all already.

Similar groups of two, three, and four were spaced throughout the room, idly chatting as they all waited for the cameras.

She chatted with Qi’ra, Jessika, and Jannah until the short woman who had given them their name tags earlier strutted to the front of the room and cleared her throat.

“Ladies, my name is Maz Kanata, and I am the event coordinator for this Selection. I will be handling your schedules, informing you of where you need to be and when, and later, when the group is smaller, handling etiquette and history lessons,” she began, a silence settling across the room at the mere mention of eliminations.

She continued, “The interviewers are ready, so we’ll take you one at a time here in just a minute. The interviews will be very short, so no need to be nervous. As each of you finish your interviews, I will escort you next door where the prince is eagerly waiting to meet you all.”

At the mention of the prince, the room erupted in excited chatter.

Maz quieted the room and finished with, “After your meeting with the prince, you may return to the room where your makeovers took place and your maids will show you to your rooms. Thank you, ladies.”

She then grabbed the first woman for the interviews, who Rey recognized as Kaydel Connix. She had a sweet face and a pale blue gown. She looked as nervous as Rey felt. Other than her picture for the application, Rey had never been in front of a camera. She’d certainly never been interviewed.

“What do you think of the other girls?” Qi’ra asked the group.

“Um,” Rey began, “I haven’t met many, but _most_ of them seem pretty nice. Bazine Netal gave me quite the glare earlier, so I think I’ll be avoiding her and firetruck over there.”

The girls giggled at the nickname.

“That’s Mara Jade,” Jessika said, confirming what Rey had thought earlier, “She’s a piece of work, from what I’ve heard. Screamed at her maids and everything earlier. Ended up doing her hair and makeup herself.”

Rey bristled at that. She couldn’t imagine raising her voice to her maids, even if she _had_ just met them.

“Sabine Wren is another one that would fit in with Bazine and Mara,” she added, discreetly pointing to a woman with bone white hair and narrowed eyes, “I heard that someone else from her sector was picked, but came down with a mysterious illness right before staff came to her planet for the health examination and everything.”

Rey hadn’t finished watching the broadcast on the night of the announcement, so she hadn’t realized that Sabine hadn’t been announced the first time around.

One by one, her friends left for their interviews, leaving her alone in her seat. There was only one woman left, so Rey rose from her seat and teetered over to her. She was gorgeous, with dark skin and hair, which was complimented by her purple gown. She looked very regal and sat with her back ramrod straight.

“Hi, I’m Rey,” she said when she reached her, sticking her hand out.

The woman shook her hand and flashed her a grateful smile, “I’m Iden. It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you decided to come over here. It would’ve been a little awkward just sitting and staring.”

Rey laughed. Iden was friendly, but cool, as if she wasn’t sure whether to trust Rey or not.

“Do you think going last is good or bad?” Rey ventured.

“Um, I think it could go either way honestly. On one hand, he’s probably tired of meeting random strangers who are now living in his house, but on the other hand, we might stick out in his mind since he’s seeing us last.”

Maz chose that moment to whisk Iden away.

“Let’s just hope it’s the second one,” Rey called as they walked away, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

She slumped in her seat, finally relaxing her now sore back and rolled her neck around to alleviate the discomfort. She honestly couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. The whole day had gone by in a blur and new names and faces now swam around in her head. It was hard to believe that she had been on Jakku just that morning. She’d hardly had time to think all day, and now the weight of her thoughts threatened to crush her. Now that she was faced with meeting the prince, even though she wasn’t exactly interested in trying to win his heart, she was nervous. She wasn’t really sure why.

_What in the world am I, a nobody from Jakku, supposed to say to a prince?_

She didn’t have time to figure it out, because Maz materialized in front of her.

“Sit up, child! A lady never slouches,” she chided.

Rey apologized hastily and hurried behind Maz as she guided her to sit in front of the camera. Two of the chairs had been set up across from each other, with a short table between them.

She was greeted by none other than Cassian Andor, who sat in the chair across from hers.

He turned to the camera, “We’re here now with the last lovely lady you’ve yet to meet. What’s your name darling?”

She pointed to her name tag, “I’m Rey, but you already knew that.”

She gave him an easy smile, not knowing where her confidence was coming from.

“You caught me,” Cassian replied easily, “So, Rey, you’re from Jakku, correct?”

She nodded in reply.

“I can imagine that this is quite different from what you’re used to,” he stated, but it was obvious he wanted her to respond.

“Oh absolutely. I really can’t believe that I’m here, honestly. Everything is so beautiful, and I’ve already met so many awesome ladies.”

“Friendly with the competition already, are we?”

Rey laughed, “I don’t really see them that way at this point. If I’m being honest, I don’t have many friends on Jakku, and it’s just nice to be around women my age.”

“I think we’ve found the Republic’s sweetheart, if I may be so bold,” Cassian smiled, playing it up for the cameras, “Thank you for your honesty, Rey. Go knock the prince’s socks off.”

“That’s it?” Rey questioned.

“That’s it,” Cassian confirmed, “This was the easy part.”

He winked and motioned for them to turn the cameras off.

They began to pack up, and Maz came over to escort her next door.

“Good luck, Rey,” she said, squinting at her name tag, “I think you’re in luck, going last, but don’t tell anyone I said so.”

She left Rey alone at the door. Behind it was Prince Ben. She wasn’t sure whether to knock, so she turned the handle and swung the door open softly.

The prince was seated on a couch across the room, which was a great deal smaller than the Women’s Room. The first thing she noticed was just how _large_ he was. He had an ankle rested on the opposite knee and an arm slung on the back of the couch, looking utterly relaxed. He had to be well over six feet tall. His long hair was jet black and framed a face with a strong nose, a chiseled jaw, and soft, full lips. His jaw was accentuated by carefully groomed facial hair that made him look older than he was.

He was, in a word, beautiful.

Afraid to be caught staring, Rey tried to strut confidently toward the couch, but caught one of those blasted heels on the rug in front of it and quite literally fell at the prince’s feet.

“Well, I have to admit that you’re the first one to literally throw yourself at me,” he said dryly.

She righted herself quickly, settling into her seat beside him. She could feel that her face was beet red.

“Oh, um, I am so sorry, your highness,” she stammered, embarrassed.

He studied her, looking at her red face with curious eyes.

She gulped uncomfortably, “This is not how I imagined this going,” she said, staring at her shoes.

“Yeah I doubt anyone would plan that move in advance. Clumsy, are we?” he mocked.

Her eyes narrowed, “Not usually, no.”

“Well since you seemed to forget your manners and didn’t introduce yourself, I can see that your name is Rey.”

“I was a little busy picking myself up off of the floor, since _you_ seemed to forget your manners and didn’t help me.”

“I didn’t trip you. You did that to yourself, so why would I help you?”

He had an irritating smile on his face. Rey wanted to slap it off.

“Maybe because it would have been the _nice_ thing to do.”

“Well I don’t do _nice.”_

“Obviously.”

They glared at each other for a few moments before Rey decided she’d had enough.

“Well I would say it was nice to meet you, your highness, but it was actually quite irritating, and it’s been a long day, so I’m going to bed,” she huffed, rising from her seat and practically stomping to the door.

“Don’t trip on your way out,” he sang right before she slammed the door behind her.

Rey wanted to scream and even considered doing just that as she stalked back to meet her maids.

They obviously couldn’t read her expressions yet, because as they walked her to her room, they peppered her with questions.

“How did it go?”

“Did you think he was handsome?”

“Did he like your gown?”

She halted their questions when she said firmly, “The prince is an utter arse and that’s all I have to say about it.”

They were silent as they entered her room and helped her undress and get into her thin nightgown. They bid her goodnight and left in a hurry, eager to escape the awkward situation.

Now alone, Rey took in the room around her. The walls were a very pale blue, with white trim and gold accents. There was a huge bed with baby blue bedding and a mountain of pillows to match the walls. There was a door obscured by fluffy white curtains that led to a balcony overlooking the castle gardens. The castle was shaped kind of like a horseshoe, with the gardens in the middle. She could see another balcony directly across from her and wondered who it belonged to. A chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling.

There was a vanity and mirror on one wall, and a small sitting area with a couch and chairs on the other end of the room. Between the bed and the couch was the door to the bathroom, which she headed to so she could scrub the makeup off of her face. The bathroom was white marble, with gold accents, much like the rest of the castle. A huge, round bathtub was carved into the floor, with steps surrounding it.

Rey turned the water on. She’d never taken a bath before, only showers in Niima Outpost. It was scalding hot when she stepped in, but she didn’t mind. She washed away the glitter and the makeup, letting her irritation melt away as well. She’d probably be gone tomorrow, since she had been so rude to Prince Ben, so there was no use in being angry on her last night in such decadent surroundings.

When she’d scrubbed away the last of the glam, she drained the water, brushed her teeth, and tucked herself into the fluffy blankets of her new bed. The last thing she thought about before she fell asleep was Prince Ben Organa-Solo’s irritating grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really long chapter, wow! I'm sorry this took so long to get out, but life has just been getting in the way, and by life I mean university. Anyway, lots of new characters, most of which are familiar faces probably. I've taken characters that I love or love to hate from everything, even video games, so enjoy! 
> 
> I also made a pinterest just for this story under the same username, oliveornothing, so if you want to check out my gown ideas, my inspo for the castle, etc. check that out and please please feel free to send me ideas for gowns or outfits or anything you'd like to see for any of the characters!! Let me know in the comments what you think! 
> 
> Also, do you guys like the different POVs, like the maids POVs, and would you want me to do some more maybe from a couple of the other women? Obviously it will be mostly from Rey's and Ben's POVs, but let me know if there's a character you want to see more of! Long chapter, long author's note, but thank you all again for reading and see you next chapter!
> 
> **** Pinterest link: https://pin.it/3bOQRQN *****


	5. Striking a Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of our lucky ladies scores the first date with the handsome prince, but it doesn't go exactly how she expected it would. The first round of eliminations passes and Rey realizes she isn't as eager to leave as she thought she would be, but will a deal with the devil himself ensure her safety? Or will it come back to bite her later?

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 5

_Second Chances_

Rey almost punched Bea in the nose the next morning. She had awoken to Bea shaking her shoulder gently but didn’t realize immediately where she was. She let out a shriek and jumped back, preparing to attack the intruder, but suddenly remembered where she was when she felt the silky sheets of the palace bed around her. That snapped her back to reality. She certainly didn’t own anything so soft on Jakku.

She collapsed back onto her pillows in a fit of laughter at the shock on her maids’ faces. Rose and Paige had come in behind Bea, hanging a few dresses in her closet and placing makeup supplies on the vanity.

“Oh Bea, I am so sorry,” she wheezed through her giggles, “You startled me.”

“Obviously, my lady,” the girl replied in a disturbed voice, “I’m just lucky you realized who I was before I got a punch to the nose.”

Rose and Paige were obviously trying to hold in their laughter, but Rey ignored them as she rose from her warm bed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she returned, Rose had laid a white dress with an overlay embroidered with pink flowers. The neckline was very similar to her gown’s last night.

“This is a day dress, my lady,” Rose explained, “They’re for everyday wear. They’re more casual and usually shorter than gowns. We’ve made all of yours tea length so, but you can let us know what you like and don’t like. You’ll wear these to all of your typical daily activities, except when there are guests or special occasions, but at dinner, since you’ll usually eat with the royal family, you’ll have to come back and change into a gown.”

“O—okay. That makes sense, I guess, even if I am a little overwhelmed by it,” Rey replied hesitantly.

Rose just smiled at her and helped her shrug out of her nightgown and then into the day dress.

Rey wondered if she’d ever get used to being so naked in front of her maids. She knew it was part of their job to help her dress, but it didn’t make her feel any less self-conscious. No one had ever seen her like this before. She’d always had to take care of herself.

No. She didn’t think she would ever get used to it.

When the dress was on, the white piece hit at her mid-thigh, but the sheer overlay with the flowers rested at the middle of her calf. Rey felt very elegant in it, very soft and ladylike, but she let out a rather unladylike groan when Rose sat her down on the seat in front of the vanity and fastened pale pink heels around her ankles.

“Don’t complain, they’ll make your calves look killer,” Rose scolded.

“It doesn’t matter how my legs look if I’m tripping all over myself like I did last night,” Rey shot back.

Bea, who had been fastening her hair in a loose side braid paused in her ministrations.

“You...tripped last night? When?” She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Right in front of the prince,” Rey sighed, confirming Bea’s suspicion, “Face planted right at his feet.” 

Rey could have heard a pin drop in the room after she confessed her secret.

Paige, ever the optimist, replied tentatively, “Well, at least there’s no way he’ll forget about you.”

She said it so earnestly that Rey burst into laughter for the second time that morning. Soon, all three of her maids were giggling with her.

“No,” Rey said wryly when she got her laughter under control, “I don’t think he’ll forget it in a hurry.”

She’d shaken her braid loose in the chaos, since Bea hadn’t quite finished it, so the petite girl set to work again while Paige applied some light makeup to Rey’s face. It was much lighter than last night, with just a hint of shimmery bringing out the green in her eyes, highlighter for a softer look, and some pink lip gloss. When they had finished, she felt very much like a princess.

“Remind me to pierce your ears tonight when you get back from dinner,” Rose told Rey, “We have so many nice jewelry options for each of your dresses, but your ears aren’t pierced.”

Rey’s hands flew instinctively to her earlobes, “Will it hurt?”

“Just a little at first. We’ll go down to the kitchens to get some ice to numb it first.”

“I’m guessing you won’t take no for answer?”

“Nope,” Rose smiled.

“Then I guess we’re piercing my ears,” she agreed reluctantly, “But until then, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“First you have breakfast in the ladies’ dining hall, which is where you all will take your meals when you aren’t eating with the prince and his family,” Paige began, “Breakfast is always at 800 hours. Then, I believe Maz will typically come in after you ladies have eaten and let you know what you’ll be doing with your afternoon. If there isn’t anything on her agenda, then from what I understand, the day is yours. You’re pretty much free to explore the castle. The only floor that is off-limits is the floor right above this one, because the royal family’s personal rooms are there.”

“You mean I can basically do anything I want?” Rey questioned, feeling strange that she was actually free to do whatever she wanted.

“Almost,” Bea jumped in, “There are a lot of activities that the King and Queen have given you clearance for. I’m sure Maz will tell you more this afternoon.”

“Although,” Rose interjected, “If the prince wants you for any reason, I don’t think you’re required to accept, but you probably shouldn’t turn him down to wander around instead.”

Rey scoffed, “I doubt the prince will be asking me on date anytime soon. I was kind of, sort of, maybe, rude to him last night.”

“And this was after you tripped and fell?” Bea squeaked, sounding scandalized.

“Yup. Granted, he was rude to me first and I wasn’t going to just sit there and take it—plus, he didn’t even help me off the floor!” Rey justified, her voice rising.

“Um maybe he likes a girl with a temper,” Rose started but corrected herself quickly, “I mean spunk. I definitely don’t think you have a temper, my lady.”

She was fighting so hard to keep a straight face that Rey just turned her nose up and gave Rose her best ‘snob’ impression, channeling Bazine, “That’s what I thought.”

Rose let out a very loud snort at Rey’s face, “If you’re trying to look regal, maybe look a little less like you have a smelly fish under your nose.”

“Well I guess I’m lucky I have you all to teach me how to be a snob,” Rey teased.

Her maids nodded seriously, obviously not getting the joke.

Rey hid a smile, “Alright, you’d better show me how to get to the dining hall or I’m going to get lost and be late.”

* * *

When they reached the dining room, Rey dismissed her maids and had to promise several times that she’d be very careful to not get food on her white dress.

The women’s dining hall was every bit as majestic as the rest of the castle, with the same marble flooring and gold accents. While the room was the smallest she’d been in so far, it was still just as grand. A long oval table was placed in the middle of the room. It had been covered in a white tablecloth and bunches of yellow and pink flowers had been arranged to sit in a long line down the center of the table. Pink velvet chairs with gold trim sat in front of settings that included huge white plates and more silverware than she’d ever seen in her life. She would have to beg Rose, Bea, and Paige to teach her how to use it properly before she would have to eat with the King and Queen.

Rey was a little late, so most of the women were already there, but she was able to find a seat and squeeze in between Jannah and Ahsoka, who she hadn’t met yet.

“You’re Rey, right?” the blonde woman asked.

“That’s me,” Rey replied, “and you’re Ahsoka?”

“Got it one,” she confirmed, “Nice to meet you, Rey.”

“You too.”

The conversation was cut short by the arrival of breakfast. Rey’s mouth watered at the sight of eggs, toast, and some kind bright orange fruit that Rey had never seen. In fact, she’d never seen so much food in one place, and that was just the food on her plate, let alone the thirty-four other helpings that sat on the table.

The entire meal was delicious, but the fruit, which a woman named Hera, who had the most striking blue eyes, explained was a meiloorun fruit, was easily Rey’s favorite. Some of the women had given her strange looks when she’d asked what it was. Apparently, it was very common throughout the galaxy.

“Right,” Bazine had scoffed, “I forgot you were from Jakku. No wonder you’re so scrawny.”

Rey’s cheeks flooded with heat, partially from embarrassment, but mostly from anger.

She was about to shoot an insult back Lindi, who she hadn’t yet met, jumped to her defense, “I couldn’t have told you what it was either. We don’t have anything like this on Lothal.”

Bazine didn’t respond, opting instead to whisper something to Sabine, who smirked in Rey’s direction and let out an ear-piercing laugh. Lindi, who was sitting across from Rey, gave her a sympathetic shrug that seemed to say, ‘I tried’. Rey smiled gratefully in response, sensing she’d found a new ally in the tall brunette.

Jannah broke the tension by turning to Rey and Ahsoka to chatter excitedly, “So, what did you all think of the prince? How did your meetings go?”

Rey turned to Ahsoka expectantly, trying to avoid telling her embarrassing story for as long as possible.

“It was pretty short, but I think it went really well. He even complimented my dress,” Ahsoka said happily.

“He complimented my earrings!” Jannah replied, “He was so sweet, and let’s face it—the man is drop-dead gorgeous. I wonder who will get the first date.”

Rey had to stop her mouth from falling open. They couldn’t be talking about the same man that she had met last night. The drop-dead gorgeous part, yeah okay, but how in the world was Jannah describing him as _sweet?_ She had to wonder what was wrong with her. Why in the world would treat everyone else so nicely, when he’d been an absolute ass to her? It made her worry that he’d send her home at the first chance, but she wasn’t sure why.

“What about you, Rey? In love yet?” Ahsoka questioned, head tilted to the side.

“Um, it was something alright,” she stumbled, suddenly unwilling to reveal what had happened, “He was nice, I guess.”

“Alright, keep your secrets,” Jannah eyed her suspiciously.

“Oh no, that’s not it at all,” Rey hurried to correct her, “It was just so brief, I don’t really know what to think yet. He is cute, though.”

She was lying through her teeth, but she didn’t want to alienate her new friends already.

They seemed to buy it.

Lindi leaned across the table, as far as the flowers would allow, “I heard the first round of eliminations is happening today.”

“Already?” Jannah whined, “He hasn’t even spent enough time with anyone to make that decision yet.”

“I mean, if you don’t feel a connection with someone, I personally think it would be unfair to keep them here and get their hopes up,” Ahsoka pitched in.

“I get that,” Rey agreed, “Besides, it had to happen sometime, right?”

They chatted this way, speculating about who would be going home today, if the rumor was true, until Maz entered. A hush fell over the table, knowing Maz was there to let them know the schedule for the afternoon.

“Good morning ladies, you all look beautiful today,” Maz spoke warmly, “I’m sorry I was unable to join you for breakfast, but I will be joining you for tea and luncheon later on. There is much to learn before you may eat with the royal family, including table etiquette and the like, so that will be our task during your afternoon meal. One of you will be the next princess, and eventually the next Queen, of the Galactic Republic, so you _all_ must be taught to behave as though you already are a princess.”

Shoulders lifted and excited smiles passes between new friends at the thought that one of them could be the next princess.

“Until our lesson this afternoon, you’re free to do as you wish. The fourth floor, of course, is off limits, but other than that you have free reign of the castle, the gardens, and the stables. Your maids should be able to give you directions. And I believe that is all I have for you ladies, for now. You’re dismissed.”

As they all rose from their chairs and began to file out of the dining room, Maz caught Rey by the elbow, “Rey, may I speak to you for a minute?”

Maz had tried to wait until most of the women had gone, but Rey saw Bazine elbow Mara and caught the tail end of her whisper, “...going home already.”

Mara snickered and shot Rey a rude smirk. Rey cast her eyes to the ground, wanting to be angry but knowing that Bazine was probably right. She’d ticked off one of the most powerful men in the Galaxy and now she was about to be kicked back to Jakku. A few days ago, she’d have been happy at the thought of leaving so soon, but there was something holding her back now that she couldn’t quite place. It was just a feeling in her gut.

Maz’s next sentence did nothing to allay her fears, “The prince has requested your presence in the garden.”

Her tone implied that Rey should be excited, but Maz obviously had no idea what had happened the night before. She must have caught the grimace on Rey’s face because she narrowed her eyes, “Between us, you’re the first one to get a date. Try to look a little happier about it, girl!”

So, Rey plastered a smile on her face and excused herself. A million thoughts ran through her head as she trudged to the garden, one being that she didn’t really know where she was going, but at least it would take her longer to face the music. The second being that she didn’t understand why she was dreading speaking with the prince. She didn’t want to go home for some odd reason, yes, but even more so she didn’t want to face the prince again. Well, at least she was getting quite good at walking in heels and she doubted she’d have a repeat of last night, so at least she had that going for her.

One thing she didn’t have going for her was a good sense of direction, because she was lost. The Women’s Room was on the second floor, which she knew because it was only one floor below her room, so the entrance to the gardens had to be a floor down. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find the stairs. After she’d been wandering in circles for far too long, she almost cried with relief when she found Finn stationed in one of the halls.

“Finn! Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve just come from breakfast and I can’t find the stairs to get to the garden and I need to meet the prince, who already doesn’t like me very much and I’m late,” she rambled, barely pausing to take a breath.

“First of all—breathe,” he said, placing his hands on the tops of her arms to stop their flailing around as she talked, “Second of all, you’re in luck, because there just happens to be a secret staircase in this room, but I didn’t show it to you, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied, taking a deep breath, “thank you. Really, thank you. I think you’ve just saved my life. The prince might have my head if I stand him up.”

“That’s very likely, though I can’t imagine that he didn’t take a liking to you.”

“Ha! As if he could like anyone,” she snorted, but clapped her mouth shut, “You didn’t hear me say that.”

“Hear what?”

“Exactly.”

They shared a conspiratorial smile as Finn led her to a panel in a small library. He pushed it, and it sprung open, revealing a spiral staircase. He swept a hand toward it, beckoning her in.

“Good luck. Don’t lose your head, and I mean that literally,” he joked.

“I shall try my best,” she promised and started to descend.

It was dark, but a small window let enough light in for her to see where she was going. The bottom of the staircase opened into a corridor when Rey pulled a lever on the wall, and when she shut the door behind her with a _click,_ it faded into back into the wall of the hallway seamlessly. She wished she had something to surreptitiously mark the panel, but she didn’t. Too bad, it could be useful in the future.

Thankfully, she could see the gardens through a pair of huge glass doors down the hall. She hurried towards them, and a pair of guards opened them for her, giving her an unobscured view of the prince, who was pacing in front of a beautiful fountain. He looked annoyingly perfect in a crisp black and white tuxedo. He stopped and clasped his hands behind his back when he saw her.

“I see that along with having no sense of balance, you also have no respect for others’ time,” he called.

“Excuse me? I’ve been in this palace for less than twenty-four hours, I apologize for getting lost,” she shot back sarcastically.

“Apology accepted,” he replied smugly.

She just huffed and turned her head to look at anything other than his infuriatingly handsome face. He was just so _arrogant._ She could hardly stand to be around him. What she really wanted to do was shove him right into the fountain. The thought of seeing him floundering around in the water, perfect hair sticking out in every direction, was almost enough to wipe the sour look off of her face. _Almost._

“Listen, I know why I’m here,” she said after a long moment, “Just kick me out already.”

“You’re asking me to kick you out?”

“Obviously I’m not asking for it, I just know that’s why you asked me to come here.”

“Do you know that?” he quipped, “Fascinating that you think already know me so well.”

“I know everything I need to know about _you._ ”

He paused to look at her with a fiery look in his eyes.

“No. You don’t,” he barked, turning to stare off into the distance, “I _actually_ asked you to come here so I could apologize for my behavior last night.”

“Oh, that’s rich! You wanted to apologize but started by insulting me? It’s going great. I mean, really, well done.”

“Would you just listen for a damn minute?” he raised his voice, but his face and tone softened when she flinched, “Sorry. Let’s start over.”

When she didn’t say anything, he kept going, “Listen, last night was hectic, and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t have, and I suppose I shouldn’t have been impolite to you about being late either.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she snapped, thrusting her chin forward.

Her anger faded quickly though, and she sighed, “Fine. And I suppose I shouldn’t have been rude to you, even if you did insult me. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry too.”

With that, she thrust her hand out, but instead of shaking it, the Prince of the Galactic Republic took it and _kissed_ it.

A warm tingle ran up her arm and goosebumps sprouted on her body. She felt herself blush. Maybe he could be sweet after all, and he hadn’t kicked her out for insulting him yet, so there was that too.

“Smile as if I’ve just said the most hilarious thing and you’re just exhilarated to be here,” he commanded, ruining the moment.

“What?”

He leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “Cameras.”

She shivered at his closeness, but it finally clicked in her head that this whole thing was being televised, so she smiled and let out a loud laugh, laying her hand on Ben’s arm and throwing her head back. She could call him just ‘Ben’ in her head, right?

She decided she could.

To the cameras, she knew that must have looked like a terribly romantic moment, and she was pleased with herself. 

“You’re quite the actress,” Ben told her, offering her his arm, “Anyone would believe you actually want to be here.”

They began to walk, Rey’s heels clacking on the stone pathway. Flowers bloomed around them in shades of pink, red, and yellow. Here and there, purple and blue would spring up as well. It was magical.

“Thank y—I mean, of course I want to be here. Why wouldn’t I?”

“You know, I don’t think you do. As for the reason, I couldn’t tell you.”

She opened her mouth to deny it, but he interrupted her, “But, I don’t care that you don’t want to be here, because _I_ don’t want you here. I don’t want _any_ of you here.”

She stopped, dropping his arm, “What do you mean you don’t want us here? We’re here for _you._ ”

He gestured to a bench at the end of the path they were on, which was surrounded by blossoms that were tall enough to stand above their heads when they sat down. It would have been the ideal setting for a date, if they could stand each other.

“No, you’re here for my parents. I didn’t want to do this in the first place, which is why I’m glad I found you. You are going to be my favorite. All I want is to pretend like I’m enjoying this, pretend I’m actually trying, then when a reasonable amount of time has passed, shut the whole thing down. And you’re going to help me do it,” he said matter-of-factly.

Rey couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All her earlier thoughts about how she may have been wrong about him flew out the window. He was obviously just as conceited and egotistical as she’d decided he was last night.

“First of all, how did you know I didn’t want to be here? Second of all, why do you need me, exactly? You sound like you have a nice little scheme cooked up there. Honestly, I should have known that apology wasn’t genuine, you were just trying to soften me up, so I’d help you cheat your way out of getting married,” she spat out the last few words angrily.

“To address your first question, I knew because no one who even remotely wanted to stay here wouldn’t have insulted me in my own home immediately after meeting me. Shut up, please I’m on a roll,” he stopped her when she started to protest, “And to answer your second, I need you because you’re going to break my heart. My parents wouldn’t let me call this thing off any other way. So, you play along, I pretend to care about this whole thing, you pretend to fall desperately in love with me, we get engaged, stage a terrible breakup, and bam! I’m free to live my life the way I want.

He paused before saying, “You may speak now.”

“Maker, you are the most arrogant man I’ve ever had the misfortune to know.”

“Oh, because I’m sure you knew so many men on that dump you call a planet.”

“Do you want my help or not? Because I’m not the one looking for a scapegoat here. I stay, fine. I leave, fine. Makes no difference to me; but insulting me is sure as hell not going to make me want to help you.”

“Fine. I’ll have to pretend to like you anyway, why not start now?”

“ _If_ I agree to help you. What’s in it for me?” Rey said haughtily, knowing she had the upper hand.

“Easy. You get to stay here in the lap of luxury and not go back to Jakku.”

“Hell no, that isn’t payment enough if I’m going to have to act like I’m in love with _you_.”

“Fine. Name your terms.”

“First, I want you to actually _try_ to see if you could at least tolerate any of the other women enough to marry them. Some of them are really sweet and I think you’d be pleasantly surprised if you gave this thing a chance.”

“Why do you care so much about my personal life?”

“I’m not done. Don’t interrupt,” she scolded, “Second, I want you to at least attempt not to be such an arse to me, even when the cameras are off and nobody is around to hear it. And lastly, I want you to help me find my parents.”

He’d been ready to interject with a snide comment, but closed his mouth when she’d mentioned her parents, “Your parents?”

“Yes,” she said in a tone that told him the subject was not open for discussion.

He filed it away to ask her about later, and simply said, “Deal.”

* * *

The rest of the morning had passed by in a haze. Rey elected to go back to her room and relax, unwilling to face the rest of the women and their questions. She was sure there had to be someone who saw her and Ben in the gardens, so she knew she’d be grilled about it later, especially since she was the first to get a so-called date. If only they knew what was really going on. At least she had gotten Ben to promise that he’d at least try to find someone he liked, instead of just using them all as playthings to throw away when he no longer needed them. Now, whether he’d actually do that, Rey didn’t know. She hoped he would. It would be unfair to all the women here, and himself, if he didn’t. Not that she cared about him and his personal issues. He could go to hell for all she cared. Arrogant prick.

When the clock was almost at 1200 hours, Rey dragged herself out of the cozy chair she was resting in and trudged to the women’s dining room. Unfortunately, she ran into Mara in the hall.

“Rey,” she called, sauntering over and linking her arm with Rey’s like they were old friends, “So I heard you were the first to get a date with our prince Ben. Lucky bitch.”

She was fishing for information and Rey wasn’t having it. She extricated her arm from Mara’s and replied, “I know it’s hard for you to believe that a scrawny girl from Jakku could get a date with him before you, but I did. It was lovely.”

Rey stomped off, leaving Mara to glare at her back. She might have just made her first real enemy, but she didn’t care. Girls like that deserved to be put in their place.

She was still fuming when she reached the dining room and plopped down in an empty seat near Jannah, Jessika, and Qi’ra. Ahsoka, Lindi, and Hera sat across from them.

Jessika let out an annoying squeal, “Rey! We’ve been waiting for you. We were hoping you’d be in the Women’s Room after your date, but no one could find you. Tell us everything.”

“Oh yes Rey, do tell,” Qi’ra said in a low voice, sounding irritated that it had been Rey and not her. Rey decided she’d have to be careful around Qi’ra. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman you’d want as an enemy.

“Well, when Maz asked me to stay, I was sure I was in trouble. And when she said the prince wanted to see me, I was sure I was going home. But we walked around the garden for a while and talked. It was nice,” she replied, careful not to reveal too much.

“That’s it? You just walked around and talked?” Qi’ra didn’t sound impressed.

“Ugh, Rey you’re holding out on us. Spill!” Jessika complained.

Thankfully, Jannah came to her rescue, “Jess if she doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s her business. We _are_ in a competition, whether you like it or not.”

Ahsoka and Hera were nodding in agreement while Rey shot Jannah a grateful smile.

“You don’t have to be rude about it,” Jessika mumbled.

Rey was rescued from the awkward conversation when Maz came in, all business, as usual.

“Good afternoon ladies. If you haven’t already, please take a seat and we can begin.”

By the end of lunch, Rey felt at least reasonably confident in her ability to use the right utensils at dinner and drink out of the right glass at the right time. She was a quick learner, and it helped that Maz was a good teacher. Rey also learned how to spoon soup correctly—away from herself, how to drink tea correctly, and what seemed like a million other things that she was sure she’d never remember. At least she’d be using these skills every day. They’d become habit eventually, right?

When Rey returned to her room, she’d never been so happy to sink into bed. She practically threw herself onto it, shoes and all, and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

She was rudely awoken hours later by Paige, who was drawing the curtains away from the balcony door and the windows, sending the dying evening light streaming into the room and right into Rey’s eyes.

“Time to wake up, miss. You need to dress for dinner. The prince wants to see you all before you actually eat, so you have to go down early.”

“That man loves to inconvenience me,” Rey groaned, lifting herself off the bed and allowing Paige to undo the fastenings on her dress.

“Oh yes, landing the first date with him was a great burden to bear, I’m sure.”

Rey looked at her in surprise as she stepped into a gown Paige had gotten from the closet.

“What? Everyone knows, miss. Word travels fast, especially between the staff. You’re being labelled an early favorite, obviously. The other maids are so jealous of us because we have you, and the other girls are jealous too. Apparently, Bazine Netal got so angry when her maids told her, she threw a vase and shattered it all over the floor of her room,” Paige chuckled.

“You know, that doesn’t surprise me,” Rey shook her head, “Hey, where are Rose and Bea?”

“Oh, they’re just working on some new gowns for you. We only have one left that’s completely finished, and from what I’ve heard, you’re going to need more than just another day’s worth. Your hair and makeup are pretty much done, so it’s just me tonight.”

She finished fastening Rey’s dress, which was made of a light, gauzy material that seemed to float around her. It was a dusty pink, so she wouldn’t have to change her shoes or makeup. It was off-the-shoulder yet again, with sheer sleeves that were bunched at the wrists, but flowing around her arms, and a single ruffle at the bottom of the skirt. It was a very soft and romantic look, almost dreamy and Rey decided that pink was quickly becoming her favorite color. She’d never really had one before. Everything on Jakku was just varying shades of brown and orange. But pink made her feel pretty, and she liked that.

After Paige had refreshed her lip gloss and woven a pink ribbon through her braid, Rey was ready to go. She thanked Paige, brushed her teeth quickly, since her nap had left that sour, after-sleep taste in her mouth, and went to stand out on the balcony for the first time since she’d arrived. Her dress fluttered in the breeze and the warm summer air made her even more drowsy, but the view of the castle gardens was incredible. She could see the fountain she had met Ben in front of earlier, regretting that she hadn’t pushed him in, and the scent of the flowers floated up to her so sweetly that she was sure she was in a dream. This couldn’t really be her life.

Only, it was her life at the moment, and it would be for the foreseeable future. Her deal with the prince saw to it that she was in it for the long haul now. Rey was pleased to find that the thought didn’t bother her as much as it would have only a week ago. While she was happy to be staying, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the reason behind it. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t like the fact that she was only here as part of some deal. She really shouldn’t care, she wasn’t really here for the prince to begin with, but she did. It felt dirty and underhanded, like she was cheating, and that didn’t sit well with Rey. But there was nothing she could do about it, and the prospect of finally knowing the truth about her parents far outweighed any guilt it caused her. She had to know if Plutt had been telling the truth and this deal would finally get her the answers she needed.

Refusing to be late once again, Rey left the comfort of the fresh air and hurried to the Great Room. It certainly lived up to its name. It was a massive ballroom, its size far exceeding any other room she’d seen so far, and that was saying something. This was obviously where important events and festivities were held. The group of women would be dwarfed in a room this enormous and Rey had to wonder why Ben had chosen it.

She was far from the last to arrive, but Prince Ben was already there, making his rounds and chatting with the girls. Rey would have bet a million credits that everyone would be early from now on. As more of the women filtered in, he greeted them, seeming to make a point of ignoring her. She tried to shoot him a glare, but he didn’t even glance in her direction. Instead of getting herself worked up about it, she studied the women in the room and quickly identified patterns in how they were dressed. Sabine was again wearing black, and she, Bazine, and Mara seemed to be in competition over who could show the most skin. Mara looked like she was wearing a silk nightgown, and that was generous, and Bazine looked like a skanky disco ball. Rey usually hated to judge, but they were glaring daggers at her and so obviously whispering about her that she couldn’t have cared less.

Kaydel had stuck with the pastel look, wearing a moss green gown with a silhouette that was similar to Rey’s, while Qi’ra was wearing another curve-hugging, one-shoulder piece. It was funny to Rey that they’d already settled into their own styles. She was glad her maids had switched it up a bit from her gown yesterday. Kaydel caught her eye and waved her over.

“Hi, Rey.”

“Hey Kaydel,” Rey said warmly. The pretty blonde was shy and soft-spoken, but genuinely sweet. “You look stunning. That color really suits you.”

Of course Rey thought her team was the best, but Kaydel might just give her a run for her money when it came to who was the best-dressed. She really did look gorgeous. Her pretty blonde hair was drawn up into a neat but loose bun that sat on top of her head. Wispy pieces floated down around her face, giving her an angelic look. Maybe she could send her maids on a covert mission to spy on Kaydel’s outfits. She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted to win in this little competition. She wondered if Kaydel felt the same.

Probably not. As if she’d compare herself to Rey. Kaydel looked like a Queen, while Rey just felt like a scavenger in a pretty dress. Anyway, she seemed too perfect to be so petty.

“Aw thank you. I thought I’d rescue you from the vultures over there. They look like they want to rip you apart,” Kaydel replied.

Now that Rey was no longer alone and an easy target, Bazine, Sabine, and Mara had turned their attentions elsewhere.

“I appreciate it. Really, I do. They’re a lot to handle already and it’s only day two.”

“I know! It’s a shame, really. I think I could make a lot of great friends here, but no one will get along if we just treat each other like competition.”

“I agree. I want to be happy for whoever wins, not bitter that it wasn’t me.”

“I feel the same way, but of course I hope it will be me,” Kaydel looked over at Ben, smiling shyly, “He’s so handsome, isn’t he?”

“Mmhmm,” Rey pretended to enthuse, “Positively dreamy.”

She had to fight to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“How’d your date go? I meant to ask you earlier, but you disappeared from lunch so fast.”

Rey was grateful, because at that moment Ben decided not to ignore her anymore.

He tapped Rey on the shoulder and smiled at Kaydel, “You don’t mind if I steal her for a minute, do you Lady Kaydel?”

“Of course not, your highness,” she said adoringly, as if she’d ever refuse a request from him.

Ben led her away, unaware of Kaydel’s obvious admiration of him, or he was at least pretending to be. Rey couldn’t understand how Kaydel’s feelings seemed to run so deep already. It was only the second day. But then she remembered that Kaydel hadn’t grown up on Jakku, she’d grown up in a nice family who’d surely had access to the HoloNet. She’d probably seen Ben on broadcasts a million times, so Rey understood why she’d feel like she knew him already, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Kaydel seemed to be _in_ _love_ with him already. It made Rey a little uncomfortable, but maybe she just didn’t know how to be in love. She’d certainly never been in love before. She’d never even felt the love of a family.

“Finally decided to stop ignoring me?” Rey finally asked, irritated.

“Why? Feeling jealous? Starved of my attention?” He flashed a winning smile; which Rey was sure would’ve melted any of the other ladies into a puddle.

“Hardly,” she muttered in annoyance instead.

“Excuse me for doing what you demanded in our little deal. I talked to them all and I decided I’m eliminating a few tonight before dinner. Just wanted to give you a little heads up, since you seem so buddy-buddy with the competition.”

He was mocking her, but she didn’t care, “You forget that I don’t really want to be competing, so I don’t see them that way. Trust me, they can have you.”

“I just love to hear how much you really don’t want to be here. Really, it makes me feel so good about myself, but that’s where you’re wrong. They can’t have me, hence why we made a deal.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. You don’t want me here anyway so don’t act like I’m hurting your poor feelings. Go bother someone else.”

She knew she wasn’t hurting his feelings, just his fragile ego. He probably couldn’t believe that she wasn’t falling all over herself to impress him. She winced internally. Maybe ‘falling all over herself’ wasn’t the right phrase to use, considering. 

“Fine. I will,” he said angrily, though still planting a kiss on one of her hands for the cameras that were circulating around the room.

Her heart sank at the thought of constantly having to pretend to be in love with Ben. Maybe she shouldn't have accepted his deal. Then again, she had the feeling she wouldn't still be here if she hadn't. She would've been a liability for Ben, since she was the only one who knew his true intentions, a loose end.

He marched over and pulled Bazine away from her cohorts. Rey watched them chat easily and her stomach turned at the sight of Bazine laughing and running a hand down Ben’s arm. He couldn’t have picked someone else?

A voice in her head asked her why exactly she cared, but she chose to ignore it, because Ben had begun to address the whole group, “Ladies, it has been wonderful to get to know you all a little better tonight, but I’m afraid it’s time for dinner. If I asked to stay, please wait, but the rest of you can head across the hall for dinner with my family.”

It only took Rey a second to realize that the girls were staying behind to get sent home. Ben hadn’t been joking about the eliminations. When she reached the dining hall, she took her seat and looked around to see who was missing. There were seven girls missing, but the only ones she really knew were Lindi and Jessika. The others, she hadn’t spent any time with. Unfortunately, Bazine and her posse remained intact.

Rey couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness for Lindi and Jessika. She didn’t know them well, as it had only been two days, and Jessika had gotten on her nerves, but she would miss them, nonetheless. It was nice to finally have friends, and she was happy to have had the chance to meet them. She doubted she’d ever see them again, or any of the others who would be next to go, but she didn’t want to think about that.

Dinner wasn’t much of an event, contrary to what they had all expected. Rey rose with the other women and curtsied when the royal family entered the room, sat when they sat, ate when they ate, and mainly focused on using the right forks. The tables, which sat in the shape of an upside down ‘U’, with the royal family seated at the horizontal table at the head, were abuzz with the news that the girls who’d stayed behind were _gone_. Just like that, they were down to twenty-eight.

The family didn’t say much, apart from the King blessing the food and the Queen making a speech welcoming them all to the palace and bidding them good luck. She was even more beautiful in person than she was on the HoloNet, and the King was even more handsome. Queen Leia had a calming presence, sitting straight-backed in her chair, but somehow, she still seemed at ease. The King was a tad less poised, not quite slouching, but Rey could tell he hadn’t been raised as royalty like the Queen had. Aside from idle comments about the weather and other such pleasantries, they were silent, watching.

Rey guessed that this dinner was more about testing their learned etiquette than it was about getting to know them. She didn’t blame them. Who would want to get attached to anyone when the group was still so large, and it was so easy for someone to just be gone?

Poe, the prince’s brother, was as charming as everyone claimed, cracking a few jokes here and there, and Lina, the King and Queen’s only daughter, was a girl of few words. Rey suspected that she wasn’t shy, just observing quietly, judging.

Ben didn’t glance her way once and she didn’t want to admit that it disappointed her.

* * *

She fell into bed later that night with her earlobes still intact— her nerves were too frayed for her to allow her maids to pierce them tonight —freshly bathed and lathered with sweet smelling lotions and oils, wondering how she had gotten herself into such a mess. Here she was, in the palace, smelling like roses, dressed in a nightgown that probably cost more than what she would make scavenging in a year, feeling disappointed that the Prince of the Galactic Republic hadn’t glanced her way during dinner.

The though was so absurd that she burst into a fit of giggles. She turned her face into her pillow, hoping to muffle the sound so that her neighbor wouldn’t think she’d lost it. She only laughed harder when she thought of the deal she’d made with the prince. Struggling to breathe normally, Rey flopped onto her stomach, willing sleep to come to her. It didn’t—not easily, anyway. Her body was tired, but her mind was still wide awake. She still couldn’t believe that Ben’s behavior was all an act to get his parents off his back. He had seemed so genuine with all of the women tonight, talking easily with them all, surely insulting only her. Rey wasn’t sure she’d ever understand him, but she didn’t really think she wanted to either.

When thoughts slowed and she finally fell asleep, hours into the night, she dreamt of fountains, but more specifically, pushing arrogant and conceited princes into them. That night, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this chapter up quickly, since the last one took me so long! I'm happy things are finally rolling, so this chapter is another long one. I have big things planned for this story and it's seeming more and more like it may become a series, so I'm excited to keep writing! As always, leave a comment and let me know what you think! I know there are a lot of characters to work with, but I'm trying to keep them all interesting and hopefully get you all invested in their stories. The biggest thing for me is deciding which girls I want to stick around the longest, so let me know if you guys have any favorites or anyone you'd like to see more often!
> 
> Also please send help, I'm addicted to Pinterest! Check out my boards if you want to see my fashion inspirations and my vision of the castle, and again feel free to send me anything!
> 
> That's all from me for now! See you all next chapter and thanks for sticking around and reading this story!
> 
> **** Pinterest link: https://pin.it/509zuN4 ****


	6. With Friends Like These

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey spends some time with new friends and the women experience their first group date. Will Rey ever have a normal conversation with Prince Ben, or are they destined to hurl insults at each other forever?

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 6

_With Friends Like These_

For someone who was supposed to be in love with her, or at least pretending to be in love with her, Prince Ben was strangely absent from Rey’s life. In fact, she hadn’t seen him in over a week, except during meals, which didn’t exactly count considering he avoided meeting her eyes at all costs. She couldn’t take too much offense, though, since he didn’t exactly express interest in any of the other girls at dinner either. He basically pretended that they didn’t exist, either wolfing down his meals in silence and dismissing himself far before anyone else, or only speaking to his family at the head table. In both instances, his mother’s eyes bored into his back as he left the table. If he wanted her to believe he was really invested in the Selection, and trying to find his wife, it seemed to Rey that he was dismally failing.

She wanted to tell him that. She didn’t really want to see him, she just wanted to gloat about what a terrible job he was doing. At least that’s what she told herself. She also told herself that her heart didn’t sink a little every time one of the other girls came into the Women’s Room gushing about a date, that she was happy that the prince had decided to honor that part of their deal and actually _try_ to find a girl that he liked. The problem was, which she didn’t even like to consider a problem exactly, he wasn’t including _her_. Of the twenty-eight women left, he’d taken at least half of them on some kind of date in the last ten days. Not that she wanted to go on a date with him. Because she didn’t, of course, but they had made a deal. If she didn’t end up fake engaged to him, would he still help her find her parents?

This question plagued Rey’s mind as she waited for Rose, Paige, and Bea to help her dress and get ready for the day. A few days ago, she’d tried to get ready without them and she’d ended up with mascara smudged on her nose and a rather large burn on her neck that had to be covered with pounds of makeup, lest it be confused for a hickey. Since it had been so long since she’d seen the Prince, she didn’t think a hickey, or the appearance of one, would have gone over well. Since then, she’d resolved to wait for her team of maids to start get her ready. Typically, she’d throw one of her long robes over her nightgown, drag a chair out to the balcony and enjoy the morning watching the sunrise with a book from the library, which was her new favorite place in the palace. She’d had to scavenge in the early hours of the morning on Jakku, when the sun creeping over the horizon was just enough to illuminate her path, but not enough to sear her skin with its heat, and she hadn’t been able to kick the habit of waking so early, so she was up long before breakfast each morning.

This morning, she remained in bed, staring at the ceiling and pondering questions that seemed as if they’d never be answered, at least until she saw Ben. She wanted to march right up to him and demand to know why he was ignoring her, but he was a difficult man to find, always horseback riding with one girl or going on a picnic with the next. When his time wasn’t being monopolized by one of the other women, he was attending to his official princely duties. What did a prince do anyway? Rey didn’t know. She also didn’t know what the rules were concerning whether she was allowed to approach the prince or not. She’d read a story about a Queen that had risked being put to death by seeking an audience with her husband without being summoned. Of course, it had been an ancient story, and an extreme example, but Rey didn’t want to go around breaking rules when she was, if she was to interpret his recent behavior, on thin ice with the prince in the first place. Plus, none of the Selected were allowed on the floor that housed the royals’ personal bedrooms, so she couldn’t exactly go knocking on his door to ask what the hell his problem was.

Again, Rey didn’t quite understand why she cared so much, but she was at least admitting to herself that she did, in fact, care that the prince was ignoring her. Not because she cared about _him_ , obviously, but because it was incredibly rude. Being rude wasn’t exactly out of character for Ben, though, especially when it came to Rey. She huffed with frustration, swinging her legs out of bed, throwing her blankets to the side, and stalking to the bathroom, pulling her cream-colored robe on as the cool air hit her now uncovered arms. She tied the sash of the robe around her waist as she walked to the sink to brush her teeth.

She studied herself in the mirror. In only a week, she felt like she’d changed dramatically. Her deep tan from hours in the intense heat on Jakku had faded slightly, and the dark circles under her eyes that had never seemed to go away before had diminished as well. She’d gained a bit of weight, which softened her previously skeletal features and made her look much healthier, and her skin seemed to glow. Rey almost thought that she was starting to look like she belonged among the other women now, no longer looking like the malnourished scavenger from Jakku.

Now whether she _felt_ like she really did belong at the palace was a different story.

She thought about this as she began to draw her morning bath, pulling her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head to it wouldn’t get wet. She sunk into the hot water, steam rising around her. She didn’t exactly feel like she belonged here, but she no longer felt so out of place. She supposed she owed that to Rose, Bea, and Paige, who worked tirelessly to keep her looking her best, but she also had Maz, who had quickly taken her under her wing and had been delighted when Rey had asked for extra lessons, to thank for her new-found confidence. While the other women complained about their etiquette lessons, Rey thrived. She didn’t exactly enjoy them, but she felt that she had something to prove to the other women and strived to stand out no more than the rest in terms of her table manners. So, she had sought out Maz for extra training. Maz, of course, thought she was doing it because of her devotion to the Selection and to the prince, when it was really just because of her pride, but Rey hadn’t corrected her. She’d just seemed so happy that someone was enthusiastic about her teachings, and Rey hadn’t wanted to admit it was purely selfish.

She was wrapping herself in a fluffy towel when she heard the door to her room open.

She heard the door of the balcony open as well. One of her maids was no doubt looking for her in her usual spot. They jumped when she exited the bathroom, not expecting her to come from that direction.

“Good morning, my lady,” Paige sang, “You’re going to _love_ your day dress today. It’s one of my favorites.”

Rey smiled, “Paige, I love them _every_ day.”

“That’s because you are much too easy to please. I can’t believe Paige and I were worried that you’d be anything less than wonderful.”

“Well, I’m no Bazine, but I try.”

Her maids giggled. Bazine’s antics had become a running joke between them. If she wasn’t yelling at her maids or throwing things, she was spreading gossip among the Selected or glaring daggers at anyone who wasn’t Mara or Sabine. She’d been the only woman to get two dates with Ben so far, though, and she like to make sure everyone knew it.

Bea hummed as she brushed her hair into glossy waves.

“So, Rey, are you worried that you haven’t gotten a second date with the prince yet?” Rose questioned.

“Rose! You can’t just ask her that,” Paige chastised, horrified that her sister had asked such an inappropriate question.

Rey just laughed, “No it’s alright, you can all ask me or tell me anything. I feel a lot more at home with you than I do with the other Selected. I don’t have to worry about you all stealing the prince away from me.”

To her maids, Rey pretended to want to get to know the prince. For their deal to work, Rey and Ben had to convince everyone that they were in love. Her maids might get a little suspicious if she was calling him an arse one moment and falling head over heels for him the next. She hated lying to them, pretending around them, but a deal was a deal. That is, if their deal was still on the table. Rey didn’t know anymore.

“And to answer your question, I’m not exactly worried yet. I have to remember that there are twenty-eight other women here, it’s not just me, and he’s been busy. Just because I got the first date doesn’t mean I’ll be spending the most time with him. But I am starting to get a bit annoyed.”

She wasn’t sure how she could be so rational with her maids, but not with herself. Maybe it was because it was all pretend with her maids.

“Well, maybe we just need to get his attention,” Bea said with a gleam in her eye.

“Maker, Bea, I’m almost afraid to ask,” Rey groaned, “but what do you mean?”

“I’m just thinking. The first Special Report airs tomorrow, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to amp up your style a little. Maybe put you in something a little more...daring?”

Rey had almost forgotten the Report. Great, another thing to add to her worries. Tomorrow she’d have to sit down with Cassian Andor and talk about her first week and a half at the palace. They’d arrived at the palace last Sunday, and since their interviews on the first day had been aired last Friday, there hadn’t been a Special Report. From now on, the live broadcasts would air once a month to give the public firsthand accounts of how the Selection was progressing. Highlights would be aired on the Fridays in between Reports. At first, Rey hadn’t believed the Selection would long enough for the Reports to be so spaced out, but she’d done some research since arriving and learned that past Selections had lasted anywhere from months to years, though the latter wasn’t very common.

“Bea why do I get the feeling that daring to you will mean slutty to me?”

Bea just gave her an evil grin, while Rose and Paige shared a smile that didn’t make Rey feel any better about the idea.

“It’ll be tasteful, of course,” Paige assured her, “Nothing too obvious, just something that’s _different_ enough to catch the prince’s attention.”

Rey again got the feeling that ‘different’ didn’t mean different in the traditional sense, but her maids had never let her down in the past.

“Fine, but before you get too excited, I reserve the right to say no at any point after I put it on.”

Bea practically squealed as she fastened a hair clip with a row of pearls in Rey’s hair, which was styled in a loose, half-up style and flowed in a shiny curtain past her shoulders. Paige finished up her makeup, which was a little darker than usual but not much, with a dusty purple smudged on her eyelids and a berry color painted on her lips. Rey blew on her nails absentmindedly while she waited for the purple polish to dry. She was surprised when Rose pulled out a champagne-colored, silky dress. With her makeup, she’d expected it to be purple. Paige was right, even on the hanger it had the potential to be her favorite dress yet, and it looked even better on. It was tea-length, like her other day dresses, and it was the simplest one yet, but the silk flowed around her and the three-quarter length sleeve drooped in a way that made her feel timeless. The dress tied in a thick bow at the back, cinching it at the waist and flattering her slight figure. The glittery gold heels, which Rey had come to love, gave it a glitzy, yet elegant feel.

Yes, Paige had been absolutely right.

Rey waltzed down to breakfast with confidence, sitting herself in between Kaydel and Zorii, who she’d met a few days earlier and clicked with immediately. Jannah sat across from them. To Rey’s surprise, these three ladies had become her fast friends. She hadn’t expected that, since she’d never really had friends on Jakku. She’d hoped for it, yes, but hadn’t gotten her hopes up too much. They fell into easy chitchat as they dug into their breakfast of fluffy waffles drowned in sweet syrup and accompanied by juicy melon slices and some kind of blue juice that was just tart enough to compliment the sweet meal.

“Who do you guys think will get a date today?” Zorii asked nervously. She was the only girl of the small group that hadn’t had one-on-one time with the prince yet.

“Today’s your day, Zorii, I can feel it,” Rey assured her, hoping to calm her friend’s nerves. If she saw Ben today, she’d tell him to stop wasting his time with Bazine and spend time with a nicer girl. The list of things she wanted to tell him was growing longer by the minute, and none of it was nice.

“I hope so,” Zorii replied, her steely blue eyes wide, “I heard from Bazine that there are going to be more eliminations before the Report tomorrow.”

Jannah scoffed, “You should know better than to listen to that bitch. She just knows you haven’t had your date yet and she’s trying to get in your head. She’s much too proud of the fact that she’s been on two now.”

“I wonder who he’ll kiss first,” Kaydel said dreamily.

Rey had to swallow a giggle. Kaydel, while every bit the lady, composed and posh, had her head in the clouds when it came to Ben. She was a hopeless romantic, which Rey had been surprised to learn, since she’d seemed so grounded.

“How do you know he hasn’t kissed anyone yet?” Zorii asked unhappily, surely thinking about how she hadn’t even been alone with him yet.

“Because who would keep a thing like that a secret?” Rey responded for Kaydel, “Be honest, if the prince kissed you, wouldn’t you be dying to tell everyone else?”

Zorii brightened a little, nodding, “I guess that’s true. I didn’t think of it like that.”

They ate the rest of their breakfasts in relative silence, waiting for Maz to come in for their lesson. After the first couple of days, Maz had moved them to immediately after breakfast, so the girls could have the rest of the day free. It isn’t Maz who comes to greet them, however. It’s Ben.

He looks so annoyingly handsome this morning, Rey wants to stab him with her fork. Although, he pretty much looks like that all the time. He’s wearing black, as usual, and looks every bit the future king in a crisp tuxedo and a black bowtie. He looked very sharp in black, but Rey wished he’d wear a bit of color every once in a while. Again, not that she even cared that much.

“Good morning ladies,” he said as he entered, motioning for them to sit after they’d risen from their chairs to curtsy, “I asked Maz to forgo your lessons for today, because I’d like to do something a little different.”

Rey could have sworn she could hear Kaydel’s heart beating from the chair beside her.

“Today, I want to take a group of you on a date, half of you to be exact. Tomorrow, before the report, I’ll do the same with the other half.”

The tension in the room relaxed when everyone realized that he wasn’t sending anyone home right now.

He continued, “I thought this would be the best way to get to know some of you, while there are still so many of you here. It’s been a bit hard to spend time with all of you, so I apologize.”

He flashed a dazzling smile, and Rey had to fight to keep the _‘are you kidding me?’_ look off of her face. She didn’t think she’d ever know where this sweet man came from or why he never appeared when she was alone with Ben. It was like he had an alter ego or something, only Rey wasn’t sure which was the real him, the charming man that was addressing the room, or the absolute wanker that she’d interacted with. She directed her glare at Bazine instead, who was smirking like she owned the place, obviously thinking that she’d spent plenty of time with him.

“So, for today’s date, we will be heading down to the kitchens, where we’ll be cooking our own lunch.”

An excited murmur ran through the room, and Rey had to admit that it sounded fun. She’d barely had enough to eat on Jakku, and she’d certainly never had to really cook anything before. The portions she earned from Plutt simply combined with water to produce, dense, tasteless bread. Anything that involved food was enough to get Rey excited.

Ben listed the names of the women that would be joining him for the date, and Rey’s stomach twisted at every name that wasn’t hers, but faked excitement for Zorii when he called her name. She wasn’t jealous though, at least not that they were going on a date with Ben, if anything she was only jealous because of the food. She didn’t have to war with herself about that for too long, because Ben called her name at the very end of the list.

“I’ll meet you ladies here at 1200 hours, _sharp_ ,” he said pointedly, his eyes landing on Rey for the first time in over a week.

It made her blood boil.

The first time he’d bothered to glance at her since their first date and it was to basically lecture her. And she knew, just _knew,_ that he’d left her name for last on purpose, just to tease her. She changed her mind. No amount of food in this blasted castle could tempt her into wanting to go on this date. She returned his look with narrowed eyes, deciding that sticking her tongue out would be far too immature. He broke the eye contact first.

“That’s all I have for you ladies,” he said in farewell, “Just remember that those who aren’t going on the date today will have a similar one tomorrow.”

And with that, he was gone. Bazine was pouting that she had been left until tomorrow, while Sabine and Mara had been chosen for today’s. Rey was thankful that Zorii and Kaydel were included in today’s date as well, because she didn’t think she could stand to be around Mara and Sabine in such close proximity without wringing one of their necks.

She said her goodbyes to Kaydel, Zorii, and Jannah, claiming that she had a headache and wanted to lie down. Lies were rolling off her tongue far too often and much too easily these days. Usually, she spent her mornings in the Women’s Room, reading quietly while the girls talked, playing cards with Kaydel and Jannah, or sometimes sitting down with Zorii at the piano, attempting to learn how to play. So far, she was unsuccessful. Today though, she just felt like being alone. She wanted to pout but didn’t really know why, so she headed to the library instead, the clack of her heels echoing on the marble through the noiseless halls. She nodded in greeting at each the guards stationed throughout the corridors as she passed. Most of them were familiar with her, as she spent more time roaming the halls than the other women. She didn’t like to just sit and do nothing, waiting for the prince to spare a few moments to talk to her like they did, so she explored.

Cal was on duty in front of the tall doors of the library when she arrived. This was another reason she liked to visit the library so often. At this time of the day, Cal was usually the guard that was stationed here. Rey had come to consider him a friend since she’d first met him on the day she’d arrived at the castle. It didn’t hurt that he was rather handsome, though in a more traditional way than the prince. His mop of red hair complimented sea green eyes and a face spattered with freckles, like Rey’s. It was just nice to talk to someone who wasn’t obsessing over her relationship with the prince, which even her maids were guilty of. Cal and Finn, who she saw on occasion as well, provided a nice break from Selection talk.

She dipped her head in greeting, “Good morning Cal, long time, no see.”

He flashed her a smile, “Oh yes, it’s been a whole twenty-four hours. I’ve missed you, Lady Rey.”

She sighed in exasperation, “Cal, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Rey?”

“At least once more, I’m afraid,” he replied cheekily as he pulled the door open.

Rey just rolled her eyes and thanked him as she walked through the open door, asking him to please let her know when it was almost 1200 hours and breathing in the smell of old books that she’d grown to love over the past week. She could feel the tension in her shoulders leaving as she perused the shelves. The library was huge, and she’d never seen so many books in one place. She’d only owned a few, beat-up novels on Jakku, and she’d read them over and over until they were practically falling apart. Here, they lined the walls, almost completely up to the ceiling, leaving the empty space in the middle of the room to house comfy chairs and couches. She closed her eyes and ran her hand over a section, when she opened them, she pulled out the one her hand was resting on. This was how she chose which one to read. There were far too many to actually look through. She sank down into a plush chair and cracked open her latest find, only to groan when she realized it was a romance. Just what she needed right now. She was tempted to put it back, but she had resolved to read whatever her hand had led her to, so she pushed forward, getting lost in the world the author had created.

* * *

When Cal came to tell her that it was fifteen til 1200 hours, she was a sniffling mess. She had gotten to the point in the book when the happy couple had passed out of the honeymoon stage and some great tragedy ripped them apart. Before coming to the palace, she’d never had time to be romantic, or sentimental, it just hadn’t been practical, but here she was, a blubbering mess. If her maids could see her, they’d have a stroke. She was sure her nose was red, and her mascara was running.

“Maker, Rey, what’s wrong?” Cal asked, looking at her with a ‘deer in the headlights’ kind of look. He stood at the door, unsure of whether to come in or leave her alone.

She let out a strangled laugh, “Nothing, Cal, I promise.”

When Cal gave her a disbelieving look, she held up the book, “This stupid romance novel made me cry, no big deal.”

His shoulders seemed to relax, relieved that it was something so trivial that was causing the tears. At least, he thought it was trivial. What he didn’t realize was that Rey’s tears, while caused by the book directly, weren’t just because the book was sad. It reminded her far too much of her own separation from her family, and the lack of any real love in her life. But of course, she didn’t tell him that.

He hesitated for a moment before crossing the room and pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. The act itself made Rey laugh in spite of her tears. The utter absurdity of this entire experience caught up with her in the strangest moments.

She took the cloth from Cal and wiped the wetness from her cheeks, laughing harder when she realized his initials were sewn into it, and even harder when he gave her a puzzled look.

“Rey, I don’t want to overstep here, but I think you might be losing it,” he genuinely sounded concerned.

“I’m fine I promise,” she hiccupped, “It’s just ridiculous that I was a nobody from Jakku and now I’m crying over a damn romance novel in the palace because I’m here to date the prince of the Galactic Republic.”

He let out a chuckle, seeming surprised at the curse that left her mouth, “I guess when you put it like that it is a little ridiculous, but you’d better get going or you’re going to be late for your big date. It’s almost 1200 hours.”

She groaned, “Great. A lecture from his royal pain about being late is just what I need today.”

He pointedly ignored her less than kind words about the prince. She tried to hand him back the handkerchief, but he refused to take it, “You seem like you’re going to need it much more than I do.”

She looked at him with a questioning look, but kept the square of cloth, folding it and placing it in the book to mark her page. Maybe he just meant that she would need it since she came to the library so often and would no doubt be reading more romances. She didn’t have much time to dwell on the thought because Cal was ushering her out the door, telling her to run and she just might make it. She picked up the speed, doing an awkward, shuffling run in her pointy-toed heels.

“Take them off!” Cal was shouting down the hall, cupping his hands over his mouth and trying to contain a laugh.

Not breaking her speed, she pulled her heels off, hopping on one foot to take remove each of them. Her dress flapped widely around her and she heard Cal laughing as she turned a corner and rushed down the stairs.

* * *

She didn’t want to know what she looked like by the time she arrived in the kitchen, book and shoes in hand and chest heaving. From the startled looks that Zorii and Kaydel gave her when she caught up with them, it wasn’t pretty, but at least she’d made it on time. Ben hadn’t arrived yet.

“Um, Rey, I’m sorry if this is rude, but what _happened_ to you?” Zorii sounded disturbed.

“And what happened to your shoes?” Kaydel blurted out.

Rey looked down at the shoes in her hand and her face erupted into a blush. She put them on quickly, hoping that no one else had seen her without them, but knowing they had when she spied Mara and Sabine leering at her, smug expressions on her face

“Well, I was in the library,” she said, holding up her book, “and I was going to be late, so I just took off my shoes and ran.”

If her friends noticed her tear-stained face and red nose, they didn’t comment.

Rey breathed a sigh of relief when Ben entered, and their attention was shifted away from her. Her heart stuttered a little when she saw him, which disturbed her, but even she had to admit that he looked _delicious_.

His raven hair fell in loose waves over his ears, looking more casual than usual without gel. He’d trimmed his facial hair, leaving him with a bit of stubble that shadowed his jaw, he’d ditched his suit jacket and tie, and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to expose his forearms. It was the most relaxed Rey had seen him since she’d arrived here, and it looked _very_ attractive on him. That fact made her even more embarrassed when she caught a glance of her distorted reflection on the shiny silver metal of the counters and appliances in the kitchen.

Her hair was wild, and she combed her fingers through it to tame the flyaways that had come loose while she was running. Her nose was still tinged red from her crying episode and she wiped the remnants of mascara from under her eyes. She looked a little better by the time she’d fixed herself up, but some of it was beyond repair.

“Good afternoon,” Ben began in his smooth baritone, “Welcome to the first group date of this Selection and welcome to my favorite place in the whole palace...where the food comes from.”

A huff of quiet laughter rippled through the room at the joke, but Rey’s face remained impassive. She knew his kindness was fake. His eyes landed on her, and his expression turned from friendly to startled, before he quickly rearranged it back to a pleasant smile. She guessed she hadn’t fixed herself up as well as she thought, and she could just feel the insults coming.

He explained that they would be making nerf steaks smothered in a green cream sauce, roasted root vegetables, and for dessert, flaky pastries smothered in honey and powdery sugar. There would be kitchen staff to help them at each step, but Rey still felt overwhelmed. The meal sounded much more complicated than she had expected it to be.

The kitchen was enormous, equipped for serving dishes to hundreds of people if necessary, so each one of the women had their own station, where the ingredients were set out and ready for them. Rey was standing at her station when she felt an apron fall around her neck, and jumped back into the counter behind her, startled.

She turned around and the prince was standing there, with a stricken look on his face.

“Sorry,” she muttered, “I don’t do well with people sneaking up on me.”

Her face was burning with a red-hot blush, but she acquiesced when Ben motioned for her to turn around. He swept her hair to the side, tying the full-body apron around her neck. Rey tried to ignore the feeling of his fingers in her hair and his breath on her neck, telling herself that he was just putting on a show, not showing her any genuine kindness. He tied the strings around her waist as well, and she noticed that the other women were staring, some with outright hatred and the rest with disappointment.

“Thank you,” she said coolly, turning around when his nimble fingers had fastened the strings into a bow at her back, “My maids would kill me if I got anything on this dress.”

“Mmm, well we wouldn’t want that, considering you’re probably already in hot water for the state of your hair and makeup, which I don’t remember looking _quite_ like that this morning.”

Her heart stuttered at the realization that he must have been paying a little bit of attention to her this morning, other than to covertly tease her about being late. But the feeling quickly turned to anger when she also realized that he’d insulted her. She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck and began to chop her vegetables, probably more aggressively than was necessary.

“Well it was either be on time looking like this or be late looking perfect,” she sniffed, “And I seem to remember _somebody_ emphasizing the importance of being on time, so make up your mind.”

“Someone’s cranky today,” he mused.

“That’s typically what happens when you insult someone.”

“I was merely commenting.”

“Well don’t next time,” she snapped.

“Fine,” he snapped back, jaw clenching, “What happened to you anyway?”

“If you must know, I was in the library, and I lost track of time. I had to run to get here.”

“And you were so afraid of being late, you cried on your way down?”

She flushed with embarrassment. She’d hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“I wasn’t crying,” she denied, lifting her chin in a challenge.

He just nodded, following the direction of a kitchen maid who was telling them how to combine the ingredients for the cream sauce. Rey found herself watching his hands as he measured the milk, chopped the herbs, and threw it all into a saucepan. He had the biggest hands she’d ever seen, and they easily dwarfed the utensils, but he handled them deftly and made quick work of the sauce.

“You look like you know what you’re doing,” Rey ventured, extending an olive branch of sorts.

“I used to come down here all the time when I was younger,” he told her with the ghost of a smile, “The staff used to let me do little things, like cut vegetables of add ingredients they’d already measured.”

“That sounds nice,” she said softly, thinking of her own childhood, marked by harsh desert sands instead of kind staff and towering ceilings.

“Simpler times,” he replied wistfully.

She looked at him in confusion. What could he possibly have to complain about?

She didn’t voice the question, though. She was enjoying having a normal conversation with him, without insults flying back and forth between them. They settled into easy silence, only interrupted when he would stop to explain what an ingredient was, or why he was adding it at that time. Rey was happy to let him do most of the work, leaving her the easy job of seasoning and oiling the vegetables.

When the ingredients for the sauce were all in the pan, he excused himself to make the rounds and spend some time with the other women.

“You’re a terrible liar, you know,” he had said, running his thumb across Rey’s cheek, wiping away some stray mascara, and then he was gone.

That treacherous blush creeped up her neck again. So, he’d seen through her lie about the crying, though she was glad he hadn’t pressed her anymore. She would have been embarrassed to admit that she’d been crying over some dumb romance novel.

She stirred the sauce, waiting for it to thicken while she watched Ben make his way around the room. Pride swelled in her chest when she realized he wasn’t spending nearly as much time with any of them as he had with her, but the feeling dissipated when she remembered it was only an act. She wasn’t bothered by his obvious lack of affection for her, it just wounded her pride that their deal was seemingly the only reason she was still here. She told herself that, but something twisted in her chest when she heard Kaydel’s peal of laughter and looked over to see the prince spooning some of the sauce into her mouth, smiling like he was just the happiest man in the world.

Damn if he wasn’t a good actor.

Rey concentrated on seasoning the meat before putting it, and the vegetables into the oven, distracting herself from Ben’s activities. When everything was done and she was only waiting for it to cook, a kitchen maid come over to instruct her on how to mix up the pastry dough. She enjoyed this a lot more than cooking the meal, and by the time the dough was in the cooler to chill, she felt like she was coated in flour. It was smeared on her forearms and she’d scratched at an itch on her nose earlier, so she was sure it was on her face as well. She didn’t mind, though. For the first time in her life, she felt proud of something she’d done. It might seem silly to the other women if she said it aloud, but even if it was just pastry dough, it was the first thing that she’d made that was entirely her own, and she liked that.

When the timers on the ovens began to beep, one-by-one, Ben made his way back over to Rey.

“Thought I’d come help you with that,” he said, pointing to the open door of her oven and pulling oven mitts onto his hands, “I know you’re clumsy and I wouldn’t want you to burn yourself.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decide if he was joking with her or insulting her. She relaxed when she saw the teasing smile on his face. He was in a good mood today, which made her suspicious, but she wasn’t complaining.

“What, do you want me to swoon or something?” she teased.

“Well, you are supposed to be falling in love with me, so you could go the extra mile,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah, yes, but you forget that you are also supposed to be falling for me, and practically ignoring me this past week probably isn’t the best way to convey that,” Rey kept her tone light, teasing.

“You’re the one who made me promise to spend time with everyone else. Besides, it would look pretty suspicious if I only spent time with you, right from the beginning.”

He was making sense, but it didn’t make her any less annoyed.

“Mmhmm,” was all she said.

He had pulled the food out of the oven and was arranging it on a plate for her. She busied herself with washing her hands and wiping the flour from her face. It felt nice, the domesticity of the moment. It was something she’d never felt before. They walked to an adjoining room, and he set the plate down on the table that the staff had set up for the group, pulling out a chair for her to sit on.

“Thank you,” she said, sitting, “Glad to know you can at least play the part of perfect gentleman.”

It came out with a little more bite than she’d intended, and he stiffened, “Well, my freedom depends on it. Your performance could use some work though.”

So, they were back to square one.

“Excuse me if I didn’t grow up in a loving home. I can’t pretend to be in love when I don’t know what it looks like,” she said with acid, revealing more of herself than she’d intended to.

His face fell briefly, but it hardened to a stony glare, “Well if you want this deal to work, you’ll try harder.”

He walked away stiffly, helping other women into their chairs and exchanging easy conversation with everyone but Rey.

His words hurt, but she plastered a smile onto her face when Kaydel and Zorii sat next to her, determined not to let Ben know how much his careless comments had affected her. She ate her meal with the same fake smile etched on her face, laughing when Kaydel told her about burning her vegetables and sympathizing with Zorii when she talked about cutting her finger.

“He spent quite a lot of time with you today,” Zorii said to Rey, after telling her that Ben had thoughtfully bandaged her finger.

“Surely no more time than he spent with anyone else,” she said, trying to deflect.

“Don’t be so humble, Rey,” Kaydel said, albeit a little jealously, “It’s obvious he likes you.”

She stiffened. Well, at least they were doing a convincing job. He was, anyway.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she mumbled, “He was probably just making up for the fact that he hadn’t seen me at all since our first date. He spent a lot of time with Zorii too, and she hadn’t had a date before today.”

Zorii nodded in agreement, “Maybe. Besides, Kaydel, it’s too early for him to have favorites yet. He’s just trying to divide his time fairly.”

By the time the staff had finished their pastries for them, and dessert was served, Rey and Zorii had convinced Kaydel that there was nothing to worry about yet, but Ben destroyed all their hard work when he stood to dismiss them.

“Ladies, I’ve had an amazing afternoon. Lunch was heavenly, and it was great to spend time with some of you that I haven’t gotten to know quite yet. Because I’ve now spent some time with all of you, I’ve decided that there will be eliminations after tomorrow’s date, since I will have a good idea of who I’ve made connections with so far. Thank you all for a wonderful date, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Rey stared after him as he excused himself. The tension in the air was palpable and nervous chatter began to spread like wildfire.

“Why would he announce it like that?” Kaydel whined, “Now I’m just going to be a nervous wreck until tomorrow.”

“I know, me too,” that was Zorii, “Do you think someone did something to upset him today? I feel like that was kind of out of the blue.”

Rey gulped, knowing that she had, in fact, upset him, but she swallowed her nerves, knowing that their deal protected her for now. Unless he decided she wasn’t worth all the trouble.

She was weighing the two options when she fell into bed that night, pulling her hair out of the loose bun it had been in for dinner and putting the jewels that had been wrapped around it in the drawer of her vanity. Ben had ignored her at dinner, but that was nothing new. She supposed she’d just have to wait and see tomorrow.

She almost fell asleep in her deep purple gown, but the skirt was too big for her to lay comfortably, so she dragged herself out of bed to scrub her makeup off and change into a pale blue nightgown.

Unlike most nights, she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Rey took breakfast in her room the next morning. Other than the other group’s date, there was nothing scheduled for the day until the Report that evening. Her maids had come bursting in minutes later, urging her to eat quickly. They had come armed. Armed with a long needle and chunks of ice from the kitchen.

Rey groaned when she saw them. She’d managed to keep them at bay so far, but today they’d come determined to pierce her ears. Rose promised her it was necessary, telling her she absolutely had to have earrings to match her dress for the report tonight. All the others would be dripping with diamonds, and she simply had to keep up. Rey was still wary about what they’d attempt to put her in tonight, but she didn’t voice her concerns.

Ten minutes later, her ears were throbbing and shining with huge diamond studs. The pain hadn’t been anything close to things Unkar Plutt had put her through, so she’d gritted her teeth and suffered in silence.

After seeing the state of her makeup yesterday and realizing that she’d been crying, Rose, Bea, and Paige decided she needed a girls’ day before the big Report. So, after she’d been stabbed, they drew her a bubble bath with sweet smelling oils and gave her a glass of tart wine to enjoy while she soaked. It was the most decadent experience of Rey’s life, even after almost two weeks in the castle. Glitter from the oils swirled around her in the hot water as she sipped her wine and opened the book she’d taken from the library yesterday, setting Cal’s handkerchief on the side of the tub carefully.

When she’d finished her book and scrubbed her skin with a thick sugar scrub, leaving it tingling and raw, but soft and clean, she wrapped herself in a fluffy robe and exited the bathroom. Bea worked another oil into her hair, promising it would make her hair soft and shiny, while Paige removed the purple nail polish from the previous day and rubbed lotion onto her hands. Rose was smearing some kind of mud mask imported from Naboo onto her face, which was thick and a little cold, but not unpleasant.

She’d never appreciated her team more. When Bea had dried her hair, Paige had filed her nails and painted a slate grey color onto them, and Rose had wiped away the mask, they sat on her comically large bed with her, in pleasant conservation.

Rose was sewing beading onto a dress, assuring her that it wasn’t the dress she’d be wearing tonight. That one had been done for a while.

“So...I kind of met someone,” she said, pausing in her sewing.

Rey, in an infinitely better mood than she had been a few hours ago, shimmied her shoulders at her, “Ooh spill! You all know the details of my love life before I do, so it’s only fair.”

Rose giggled, “His name is Finn and he’s a guard.”

Rey gasped, “I know Finn! He was part of my escort when I first arrived. We talk sometimes when I see him in his rotations.”

“I know! That’s actually how we got to talking in the first place. I was carrying that purple gown you were wearing for dinner last night and I could barely see in from of me, the skirt was so big. He offered to carry half of it for me. I’m sure we looked so silly walking down the hall like that, but when I mentioned that the dress was for you, we had something in common to talk about.”

“Well, I hope you both had good things to say,” Rey joked.

“Oh of course, miss. Finn thinks very highly of you. So does his friend, Cal, apparently. Maybe too highly,” Roses eyes twinkled mischievously, but then she said more seriously, “But he’d better be careful if he values his job. He can’t forget what you’re here for.”

Rey’s cheeks burned, and she reminded herself to keep his handkerchief out of sight, but she thought Rose was getting the wrong idea. She and Cal were just friends, and only saw each other at the library.

“Anyway, Finn asked me to go to dinner with him in the city whenever we’re both free.”

The girls squealed, fussing over what she would wear and asking her millions of questions. Rey decided she rather liked girl talk. It wasn’t the same with Kaydel, or Zorii, or Jannah. They could never fully trust each other while they were all here for the same thing. It was just easier with her maids, more natural. They talked like this for hours, right up until it was time for her to get ready for the Report. Rey felt refreshed, rested from not spending the day pretending with the other Selected or worrying about the prince’s mood. Now, she would have to be thrown back into the fray.

Bea’s clever fingers weaved her hair into a braid that wrapped around her head, almost like a crown, and wispy pieces fell around her face and down the back of her neck. Paige lined her eyes with dark eyeliner and brushed burgundy shadow onto her eyes, highlighting the inner corners with glitter and finishing the look with the same color lipstick, dark and wine colored. She looked fierce and intimidating, a far cry from the soft and romantic girl that her maids had portrayed her as from the beginning. She was terrified to put on the dress they had designed for the occasion, but when it was on, she fell in love.

It was sexy and daring, but it didn’t show too much skin. It was a deep burgundy, with a velvet bodice with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. It was cinched at the waist by a thin belt with a gold buckle, falling into a silk skirt with a slit that almost came up to her hip. Bea put black heels with pointy toes on her feet, which laced up her legs and tied in bows on the back of her calves. The look was completed when Rose fastened a delicate necklace made from a thin gold chain at her throat, which she called a choker. Tiny diamonds dripped from the main part of the chain, and another necklace that dropped into the ‘V’ in her gown rested on the exposed skin on her chest. Paige swapped the dangling diamond earrings that had apparently been so necessary with the studs they’d put in earlier.

“We’re not really supposed to switch them so soon,” she said, “But these just look so perfect.”

Rey was speechless looking into the mirror. Her maids had turned her from a silly girl playing princess to a woman who looked like a Queen. Her confidence soared to new heights and she would never underestimate the power of a killer outfit again. And she would sure as hell never doubt her team again.

“We have it on good authority that this is his favorite color,” Bea said proudly, motioning to Rey’s gown.

After she’d wrapped each of them into a tight hug and thanked them for everything, Rey exited the room, making her way towards the Great Room, where they would meet with Ben, most likely for eliminations, before heading to the Report Room, where filming would take place. She skipped along, with some pep in her step, no longer dreading the occasion. Right now, she felt ready for anything.

So, when she turned a corner right before the Great Room and ran right into Cal, literally, she wasn’t even fazed.

But he was. His eyes raked down her face and her gown, taking in the seemingly brand-new woman in front of him.

“Lady Rey,” he cleared his throat, dragging his eyes away from her blood red lips, “I apologize. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

She beamed at him, her earlier conversation with Rose flying out of her mind, “Just Rey, Cal. And it’s perfectly all right. I’m early today, actually, so you won’t get me into trouble.”

He chuckled, more at ease now, “I’m proud of you. Wouldn’t want you getting kicked out so soon. I’d miss seeing you around the library.”

He realized quickly that he was probably crossing a line, “Gotta have someone to break the monotony of the job, you know?”

“Of course,” Rey agreed, “I’ll see you there tomorrow, actually. I finished my book already, and with no tears this time.”

They shared a smile at her joke.

“Well, I look forward to it, as always,” Cal said, giving her a slight bow.

She dipped her head to him in farewell, thankful to have so many friends she could count on.

Little did she know, Bazine Netal had seen the whole thing from down the hall, filing the cozy little scene away for later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh Rey, so naive. Thanks to everyone reading! This chapter was originally supposed to have the Report and the eliminations in it as well, but it just got wayyy too long. I'm trying to work some character development in there without being too boring. As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought! See you all next chapter!!
> 
> Also! This is ABSOLUTELY a Reylo story. My addition of Cal (from the Fallen Order video game) is just for a little healthy competition/ jealousy for Ben. Do not be alarmed!
> 
> **** Pinterest Link: https://pin.it/7oIxN1P ****


	7. Let's Start Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another round of eliminations happens, Bazine tries to intimidate Rey about Cal but it goes way over her head, and the Report airs. Ben gives Rey a proposition, but will she take it?

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 7

_Let’s Start Over_

Rey knew her maids had done a good job with her dress. She had known as soon as she put it on. But what she hadn’t known was that it would put a target on her back tonight. When she walked into the Great Room, she felt every set of eyes turn to land on her. She struggled to keep her face impassive, trying to project the confidence she’d felt merely seconds ago. Most of the women were staring at her with something resembling surprise. The soft, girlish Rey was gone, replaced with something much more dangerous. And they didn’t like it.

Avoiding the glares, and the rather unsettling _smile_ on Bazine’s face—Rey couldn’t imagine why there was a smile on that usually sulky face—she headed over to join Jannah, who was talking to Qi’ra and Merrin, who she’d only spoken to briefly since they’d gotten to the palace.

“Rey! You look gorgeous, girl,” Jannah enthused, waving her over, “And everyone else seems to think so too, judging by the murderous looks on their faces.”

Rey blushed, “Thanks, Jannah. My maids practically had to beg me to wear this gown, but once I had it on, I was in love.”

“I think I need to fire my maids,” Qi’ra said, “Any chance you’re willing to trade?”

Rey frowned, she didn’t like that Qi’ra would even joke about getting rid of her maids, “Sorry, Qi’ra, I’m afraid not. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Besides, I don’t think you need mine; I’d say yours have done one hell of a job.”

Rey tried to keep her tone light. Qi’ra’s team really was wonderful. She looked radiant tonight, in a deep blue gown that shimmered when she moved.

Qi’ra narrowed her eyes, picking up the warning tone in Rey’s voice.

Merrin looked between the two of them uncomfortably.

“So, anyway,” she said, tucking a stray lock of her silver hair behind her ear, “Who do we think is going home tonight?”

Rey looked at her gratefully, thanking her silently for the subject change, “I honestly couldn’t tell you. I mean, it’s only been a week, and Maker only knows why he sent the others home last week. We don’t really have anything to go on.”

Jannah nodded her agreement, “I think the real question is how many.”

Merrin was chewing on her bottom lip nervously, “And I guess it depends on how well he thinks the group date went today. We did this painting thing and let me tell you, I am _not_ artistic. Paint everywhere. It was a massacre.”

Rey giggled, “I don’t think you have too much to worry about, Merrin. I doubt the Prince is going to pick his future wife based on her artistic abilities.”

“Well I doubt we’ll have to wonder for long,” Qi’ra whispered, jerking her head towards the door, which was being opened by the guards stationed next to it.

Rey looked over her shoulder. Ben, dressed in a black suit, as usual, was waltzing through the double doors with a casual smile on his face. He was the picture of ease, seemingly unbothered that he was about to break quite a few women’s hearts. Rey couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his arrogance as she turned around to face him.

His smile dropped as his eyes landed on her. His eyes were wide, and his mouth dropped open, just the slightest bit. He looked her up and down with a look that Rey could only describe as _hungry_. Like she was dinner and he was starving. It made her uncomfortable, but she refused to look away first, so instead of dropping her gaze, she gave him a blinding smile. He gulped. Visibly. Rey could actually see it.

The exchange, though it seemed to last a lifetime to Rey, was over in seconds and Ben recovered quickly. He cleared his throat and tore his eyes from her.

It seemed her maids had really done it this time.

“Ladies, it’s nice to see you all again. It’s good to see that some of you were able to remove the paint from your extremities after the date today,” Ben said, catching Merrin’s eye and winking at her.

Rey felt a strange surge of feeling, jealousy maybe? But she shrugged it off and whispered to Merrin, “Hey that’s a good sign. Maybe he thought you looked cute with paint all over you.”

“ _Shhh_ ,” Merrin hushed, trying not to laugh.

“I greatly enjoyed both today’s and yesterday’s dates. They were a nice break from royal duties, and they were a wonderful way to get to know you all, so thank you.”

With that, he began to make his rounds around the room.

Rey turned back around to the group, noticing that Hera had joined them.

“I wonder how he’ll do it today. No one was expecting it last time, but now everyone knows. I just think it’s going to be awkward to do it in a big group like this,” she was saying.

“I think you’re right,” Rey replied moodily, “I’m a little surprised that he didn’t just line us up and go down the line.”

The girls looked at her with wide eyes.

“Oh, Rey. He wouldn’t do that,” Jannah said softly, “He’s much too kind.”

Rey covered her snort with a cough, placing a hand on her chest. He really had these women fooled, but she knew the truth, how he really was. He didn’t have to pretend with her, since she already knew the truth about the charade that was the Selection. At least she knew he wasn’t putting on an act around her. That was something, right?

“You’re right,” Rey sighed softly, “I think I’m just nervous.”

“Ha!” Qi’ra laughed bitterly, “As if. I think we all saw how he was looking at you earlier. I’d venture to say you aren’t going home tonight.”

She huffed and stalked away.

“Don’t mind her,” Hera said, rolling her eyes, “She’s just jealous. I think we all are, most of us just handle it better.”

Rey’s face grew hot. She hadn’t thought about what the other Selected’s reactions would be to her dress. Just Ben’s.

“You know, just because he thinks I look nice, doesn’t mean he’s going to keep me around. There’s more to being a wife and a Queen, no less, than just looking pretty,” Rey said defensively, but she didn’t believe her own words.

If Ben ever really did get married, Rey wouldn’t be surprised if he picked her solely on looks. That was probably why he spent so much time with Bazine.

 _Poor woman_ , she thought, _whoever she is. Good luck to her._

Rey had gotten so lost in her conversation with the other girls that she hadn’t noticed that their numbers had been dwindling. There were only about fifteen women left in the room. Her heart soared when she saw that Bazine was gone, and Sabine too, but sank when she saw that Kaydel was also gone, along with Zorii, Iden, and Ahsoka. Rey looked around in confusion. There was no way that Ben was sending so many women home. It was only a couple of weeks since they’d even gotten here. Panic started to set in, and she saw Qi’ra heading out the door as well. Maybe he had decided to speed things up a little, but that didn’t make sense to Rey, either. She was sure the King and Queen wouldn’t be too thrilled if he sent, what? Fourteen or so women home right before the first Report? No, there had to be something else going on here. Before she could figure it out, Ben was standing in front of her.

“Good evening, Lady Rey,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a light kiss.

Rey looked at him with suspicion.

“Dear Lord, woman, can’t I be nice to you without you looking like I just kicked a porg or something?”

That was enough to make Rey laugh, “No, no you can’t. I’m simply not used to you doing anything other than hurling abuse at me.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re my favorite, remember? I’m falling for you and all that?” he said, lifting his chin and looking down his nose at her.

“Oooh, you’re rather good at that. Looking down on me. You must have a lot of practice,” she quipped, not in the mood to pretend tonight.

She didn’t know why, but every time he mentioned their little deal, it put her in a foul mood. She’d rather have him insulting her than pretending to be something he wasn’t. It didn’t feel right, especially after she’d spent a lot of her time getting to know the other girls. A lot of them really believed they had a chance to find true love with Ben. She couldn’t stand the thought of playing a part in them having their hearts broken.

“Oh well aren’t we feisty tonight? Must be the dress,” he purred, looking her up and down.

She felt her face get hot with a blush.

“I’m not a piece of meat, you know,” she spat, crossing her arms over her chest to hide the exposed skin there, “If you want to go ogle someone, I’m sure Bazine would be happy to oblige.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Keep your voice down, please. And try to look a little more like you can at least tolerate me. We do have appearances to keep up, _sweetheart.”_

He said the last bit with a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.

She returned it, but it never reached her eyes.

“Oh yes, wouldn’t want anyone else to know how insufferable you are,” she said through her teeth, never breaking her smile.

He laughed as if she’d said something funny, drawing the eyes of every women left in the room, “Glad to know what you really think of me. I’d appreciate if you could think of something else before the Report, though.”

“I’ll try my very best,” she replied, leaning up on her toes to whisper it in his ear.

_There! See what the other girls think of that._

“See that you do,” he commanded, his voice hard, even while he leaned down to kiss her cheek, “You may go to dinner.”

It was an obvious dismissal. Her mind was fuddled from the sweet kiss he’d pressed onto her cheek. It was for show, obviously, since they’d been arguing when he did it, but she couldn’t help but bring her had up to touch the place where his lips had met her skin as she walked from the room. It felt as though the spot was on fire. She’d never been kissed before, even on the cheek.

Suddenly, she was angry. Angry that he’d stolen that from her. She made up her mind to tell him no more fake kisses, even on the cheek. Though she doubted he’d listen. Who’d believe they were in love if he couldn’t kiss her?

She was so lost in her thoughts that what was happening didn’t hit her until she was walking through the dining room door. There at the table sat Bazine, Sabine, Kaydel, and all the other women she’d thought had gone home. Only, Ben hadn’t sent them home. He’d sent them here. Meaning that whoever didn’t come to dinner was gone. She took a seat beside Ahsoka and thanked the footman who had brought her a plate. She ate quietly, watching the door too anxiously to engage in conversation with Ahsoka and Kaydel, who was across from her, or to even taste the food she was eating. And that was saying something, because Rey loved food. A lot. That stemmed from never having enough of it growing up. She was watching the door for Jannah, Hera, and Merrin.

It was only the second elimination and she was already worried about the friends she had made going home. She’d only known these girls for two weeks, but they already felt like family. She knew it was because she didn’t have a family of her own, and she doubted they felt the same way about her, but the thought of losing them still gave her an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Her heart lifted when Merrin and Hera walked in together, laughing. She smiled at them in relief and quickly counted the number of girls now seated at the table. There were nineteen. Rey kept her eyes on the door, somehow knowing that there would be one more. She didn’t know how, but she could just sense it. Maybe it was because she could see Ben being such a control freak that he needed to have an even number of women. She prayed silently that it would be Jannah and not Mara.

She could have cried with relief when she saw Jannah walk through the dining hall doors, Ben at her heels. They all stood and curtsied when Ben entered and sat when he took his seat between the Queen and Poe. And just like that, they were down to twenty. Fifteen gone in two weeks.

Ben tucked hungrily into his food, ignoring the conversations going on around him. Rey glared at him, still angry about the kiss.

_I know it was just a kiss on the cheek but why did you have to kiss me, damnit?_

Ben chose that exact moment to snap his head up, looking directly at her as if she’d spoken the words directly to him. He smirked at her and she narrowed her eyes but broke the eye contact with a red face when the Queen followed her son’s line of sight and her eyes landed on Rey with a curious look. Suddenly, Rey was very interested in the creamy soup in front of her.

Well. At least he wasn’t ignoring her anymore.

* * *

Dinner passed with no more infuriating _smirks_ from his highness, and soon Rey’s stomach was twisting with nervous anticipation for the Report.

“What kind of questions do you think they’ll ask?” she asked Kaydel, who was walking to the Report room with her.

“Probably just general things. If we’ve had a date with the Prince, what we think of him, what we think of the castle, our families maybe.”

Rey snapped her head to look at Kaydel in alarm, “You think they’ll ask about our families?”

If Rey’s stomach had been in knots before, there was no way to describe it now. She could lie, easily, about Ben, and how she felt about him. She could gush and carry on about how happy she was to be here and how sweet and kind he was. But she couldn’t lie about her family. She didn’t think she had it in her. And anyway, as Rose and Bea loved to tell her, she was practically a celebrity now. People throughout the entire galaxy were betting on who would win, and which girls would be sent home soon. The HoloNet articles they showed her told Rey she was a favorite among the people. Knowing that, Rey couldn’t lie about her past, because it was pretty much a sure thing that people would find out. She would have no privacy from now on, even after her days at the palace were over. She’d have to admit, on a live broadcast that she was an orphan, a nobody, and in front of Ben and his family as well. Oh, Rey was sure they knew. They would have done intense background checks on everyone before anyone was allowed within a hundred feet of the palace, but to have to admit it out loud? She wasn’t sure she could bear to look at any of them in the eyes again.

Kaydel was staring at her curiously, “Well, I’m not sure of course, but they might. Although, they may save the more personal questions for when there are less of us. That’s when they can actually start getting attached, I guess.”

Rey prayed that Kaydel was right.

“That’s a good point,” she conceded, “Is it weird to you that they’re already _betting_ on winners? I mean, it’s only been two weeks, and these are strangers. They only know what they’ve seen on the HoloNet.”

Kaydel tilted her head and thought about the question, “I suppose it’s a little odd to us because we’re actually a part of this, you know? But if I were at home watching, I’d probably have someone I’d be rooting for. Someone from my home planet maybe, or someone I liked from the interviews. Tonight’s Report will factor into bets for sure, especially since eight more of us are gone.”

Rey just hummed in agreement. Kaydel had a point. If she’d had access to the HoloNet back on Jakku she’d probably have a favorite as well. Still, it felt strange to be the object of a bet.

The Report Room was brimming with camera crews and maids rushing to do last-minute make-up touches when Rey and Kaydel arrived. They weren’t late, but they were the last two to arrive. Kaydel was whisked away quickly by one of her maids, who was mortified at the state of Kaydel’s lipstick, which had apparently been smudged during dinner. Rey searched the room for any sign of one of her maids but couldn’t find them in the chaos.

The Report Room was, like most of the other rooms in the castle, enormous. It was almost like an arena, with a stage in the center and seats that rose above it. There were seats for the women onstage, behind the royal family’s seats. Cameras would record the whole event from a short runway jutting from the stage. Rey wandered backstage, where all the women would have to gather right before the broadcast went live. One-by-one, they would go out for their interviews, then take a seat in the chairs onstage. Unfortunately, Rey was one of the first to go onstage, which meant she had to be on camera for a much longer time than she was comfortable with.

There was still no sign of her maids, but her eyes found Ben, who was having a microphone threaded through his shirt and attached to his collar. His shirt was lifted, showing the tiniest bit of bare skin on his abdomen. She couldn’t help but stare. He really was glorious.

But then he caught her staring and flashed an irritating grin.

“Enjoying the view?” he called.

Her cheeks flooded with heat and a blush creeped up her neck, embarrassed that Ben had caught her, but even more embarrassed that he’d called her out in front of the sound guy who was fixing his mic.

She huffed, gathering her skirt up in her hands and stalking off, doubling down in her quest to find her maids, ignoring the sound of his laughter. She’d never met another person who would infuriate her so much. He was just so arrogant, caught up in his own self that he’d never see anyone else. And that, for some reason, made her sad. Now she was just thoroughly in a bad mood.

She slumped down on one of the seats close to the stage, then quickly corrected her posture before Maz could catch her slouching. She put her head in her hands, trying to get her head straight before she’d have to go on a live broadcast that the entire galaxy would be watching.

Her head snapped up at the sound of the rapid clicking of heels on marble flooring coming towards her. Rose and Bea were running in her direction, make-up case in hand and dresses billowing.

“Rey, we are _so_ sorry we’re late. We’ve been working on some designs for a special gown and we got sidetracked,” Rose blurted out, breathing hard from running.

“Don’t worry about it, really. We still have time before the show goes on, and I doubt I need much fixing, apart from my lipstick maybe. Dinner was the only thing on my schedule for today.”

She smiled at her maids, grateful for the distraction of their presence. “What’s this about a special gown?” she asked warily, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Rose and Bea exchanged an uneasy glance. “Well, we weren’t supposed to tell you,” Bea said uncertainly, “But there’s a special event coming up soon. The gown for it is going to take a while, and we wanted to get ahead on designs so we could have options for you to pick from. Paige is still working on them. _But_ we can’t tell you what the event is so don’t even ask.”

“Yeah,” Rose nodded seriously, “We’ve already said too much. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“Alright then,” Rey said, in a tone that said she wasn’t very happy at being left out. “But the second you’re allowed to talk about it, promise you’ll tell me.”

“Cross our hearts,” Bea said earnestly, Rose nodding beside her.

Rey couldn’t help but let her bad mood fade away as she fell into easy chatter with Rose and Bea while they touched up her makeup. Rey had been right; they didn’t have to do much, other than reapply a fresh layer of her burgundy lipstick and dab on some setting powder so she wouldn’t look too shiny on camera.

When they were done, Rey dismissed them made her way back to the backstage area. It was only a few minutes until showtime. She was almost too busy trying to calm her nerves that she didn’t notice Bazine sauntering over to her.

“Nice dress,” she smirked, “It’s a very _different_ look.”

“Um. Thanks. My team thought it would be nice to do something different for the Report,” Rey replied, knowing that Bazine wasn’t really giving her a compliment, but acting oblivious.

“Hmm. Well it has certainly gotten a lot of attention from, you know, _everyone._ Must be nice to play dress up for a while, huh?”

Rey’s cheeks burned, for once with anger instead of embarrassment. She knew Bazine was putting her down because of her past on Jakku and because she hadn’t grown up wealthy, like Bazine had. From what Rey had heard, she’d grown up in an affluent family on Coruscant and had never wanted for anything in her whole life, so of course she’d look down on someone who’d grown up dirt poor with no parents. What Rey couldn’t figure out was what Bazine had meant by her comment about _everyone_ liking her dress. Maybe she just meant that everyone had noticed Rey was trying a different strategy and that she was someone to look out for.

Whatever she meant; Rey didn’t like it.

“It is, actually,” Rey replied sweetly, refusing to take the bait, “It’s just so different from Jakku. I can only hope to be here on a more...permanent basis someday.”

Bazine narrowed her eyes and scoffed, “Yeah, good luck with that.”

Rey caught a mumbled “as if” as she stomped away. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she watched the other woman stalk off. Women like Bazine would take themselves out of the competition, so Rey wasn’t too worried about her. Something in the back of her mind told her to be a little more cautious of Bazine and her motives, but she pushed it down to focus on the Report. The Republic’s anthem began to play, and the royal family took their places onstage. In front of their seats, there was a tall, circular table and two chairs, one for Cassian Andor, and one for the interviewee. Rey was number three in the lineup. Hera was first, then a woman named Trilla, so Rey had to stand behind stage, tapping her foot nervously through two interviews before Cassian was welcoming her onto the stage.

“And all the way from the desert planet of Jakku, an early favorite among the people, and as a little birdie may have told me, a favorite of the prince as well,” Cassian introduced, covering one side of his mouth as if he were telling the audience a huge secret, “Rey Niima!”

Cassian extended a hand to her as she walked across the stage, kissing her cheek as she took her seat across from him.

“Rey, now don’t you look ravishing tonight?” Cassian complimented her.

She giggled, “Thank you, Cassian, but I can’t take credit for it, my maids are incredibly talented.”

“She is as humble as she is beautiful, folks,” Cassian beamed at her, “Let’s get right down to it, Rey. How are you liking your time at the castle so far?”

“It’s been absolutely amazing so far, Cassian. Everything is just so...um, _dazzling_. I mean, I’m constantly amazed, even just walking down the halls.”

“Me too. And I’ve been here plenty of times.

Conversing like this with Cassian was so easy, she almost forgot about the cameras.

“So, we don’t have much time and I want to get to the important things. Have you had a date with the prince yet?”

Rey knew it was her time to play up her relationship with the prince. “Um, yes actually. I was his first date,” she said shyly, “We walked around the gardens. It was lovely.”

“Oh, maybe our little birdie was right about the prince having a favorite. What do you think of our dear prince Ben?”

Rey took a deep breath before answering. Thankfully she had prepared for this question. “The prince is unlike anyone I’ve ever met before, Cassian. What I like about him is that he’s very _honest_ , which is obviously hard to come by in a politician.”

What she didn’t say was that by 'honest', she meant something closer to rude. Clueless, Cassian laughed at her joke, gesturing for her to continue.

“He’s also very passionate about the things he cares about,” Rey said, not mentioning that the only thing he cared about was himself, “He’s going to be an amazing husband to a very lucky woman one day, and I believe he’ll make an excellent King. Oh, plus, he knows how to cook, which is obviously every woman’s dream.”

She said the last part with a mock serious face, earning another laugh from Cassian. But Rey realized that, even though she was trying to put on a show, she really did believe what she was saying. Yes, Ben was selfish, but he _was_ passionate. And she really did think that he’d make a good husband, if he ever did get over himself and get married, and that he’d make a wonderful King one day, if he could put aside his own arrogance. The fact that he could cook, at least, wasn’t contingent on him changing any integral part of his personality.

Cassian put a hand on his chest and made an ‘aw’ face to the camera. “Sounds like you know our Prince pretty well, then.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Rey said, turning a bit in her chair to smile at Ben for good measure, “But I would say that I hope to get to know him a lot more.”

“I think I speak for the whole of the Republic when I say, we hope you do too. Thank you, Rey,” Cassian said, shaking her hand and dismissing her back to her seat.

She gave a slight curtsy to the royal family as she walked to her seat and settled in next to Trilla. She finally let herself relax, though she was still mindful of her posture since the cameras were still rolling. Sabine waltzed out as soon as Rey was seated. Her interview strategy was obvious, flirting with Cassian and leaning forward to allow the camera a generous view down her dress. Bazine’s interview was much the same. Kaydel came off as sweet and shy, while Jannah, Iden, and Ahsoka went for cool and confident, and Merrin went for bubbly and personable. Qi’ra tried to come off as mysterious, but to Rey she just seemed grouchy and secretive. All in all, the interviews were an accurate depiction of everyone’s personality, except for her own, considering she had to put an act on for the whole thing. Even at her seat, where she just wanted to slouch and rest her head in her hands, but she instead sat with perfect posture and smiled and laughed on cue with the other girls’ interviews.

Queen Leia talked about how thrilled she was to have all of the Selected here and how wonderful it had been for Ben, who seemed to be enjoying himself. He had the Queen fooled, even. King Han spoke after her, cracking jokes and refusing to tell Cassian who he favored as the future Queen, claiming there were still so many that he didn’t even know all of their names, though Rey knew he did.

Finally, it was Ben’s turn, and Rey sat a little straighter in her chair, eager to hear the nonsense that would come out of his mouth this time.

“So, Prince Ben,” Cassian began, “we’ve met all of your lovely ladies tonight, but I can’t help but notice that there are quite a few missing. How did you make the decision about who to send home, and when?”

All the women seemed to lean forward, eager to know the answer themselves.

“Well, Cassian, I have to say that at this point it’s a gut feeling more than anything else. It’s all about who you connect with the most when it’s this early in the game. I know that later it’ll be more about actually figuring out who I like to spend the most time with, who assimilates the easiest into my life and my family, and who I think would be the most qualified to rule by my side. But that comes with time, and to have more time with each of these ladies, unfortunately there has to be less of them,” Ben said with an easy smile.

Rey wondered how long he’d rehearsed that one. It seemed like a very sweet and genuine answer, and if Rey had been watching at home, she would have gained a great amount of respect for the Prince. On the surface, he seemed totally committed to not only finding the love of his life, but also choosing a woman who would be a competent and able Queen. It seemed totally unselfish, but Rey knew better.

Cassian sure seemed convinced of his answer. “Do you worry that you may have sent the right one home already, and you’ll never know?” he asked.

Ben laughed, throwing his hands up in the air, “Of course I do! It’s absolutely terrifying. I’m here to find my wife, and while I do believe she’s still here, it’s hard not to question every decision I make, especially when it comes to sending someone home.”

Cassian nodded in sympathy, “Of course, of course. Now tell us, your highness, is there anyone who has made an extra special impression on you since these beautiful ladies arrived?”

“All of them are wonderful, and I’m very lucky to be able to get to know them, but I will admit that there are a few that have made quite the impression. I don’t kiss and tell though, Cassian,” Ben said sternly.

“Oh, so there’s been kissing going on?”

Rey’s heart sank. He’d kissed one of them? Or more than one? She forced the feeling of disappointment away. She was angry he’d even kissed her cheek, so why would she be upset that he’d kissed someone else?

Ben laughed and waved the question off, “Just an expression Cassian.”

Rey let out a pent-up breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Don’t be such a tease, Ben,” Cassian urged, “Tell us! Give us something to go on.”

“Fine. Fine. I _will_ tell you that the woman that caught my attention the first night quite literally fell at my feet.”

Rey wanted to disappear. She wished for a hole to appear in the ground and swallow her. If Ben told everyone that it had been her who’d tripped on the first night, she would throttle him. And then she’d be executed for murdering the crown Prince of the Republic.

“Really?” Cassian laughed. “Tell us the whole story.”

“Well, there isn’t so much to tell. When she walked in to meet me for the first time, I believe she caught a heel on a rug, and she tripped and landed on the floor in front of me. It was quite endearing, I have to say. But she hasn’t exactly been falling at my feet since. She’s very feisty, and definitely has a mind of her own. That’s part of what I like about her.”

A blush was creeping up Rey’s neck. She knew he was acting for the cameras and his family, but she almost wished that’s how he really felt. Not that she really liked him either, it was just better to imagine that than to face the reality that he hated her.

“This doesn’t happen to be the same woman who got the privilege of scoring the first date, does it?”

Rey blushed even harder, begging Ben silently not to confirm it. She didn’t need the entire galaxy knowing that she tripped and fell when she first met him.

He looked back at the women, catching Rey’s eye and tilting his head to the side, as if he’d heard her silent prayer. “It might be, but then again it might not be. Maybe one day I’ll tell you,” he said smugly.

“Ah, Ben. You’re no fun,” Cassian pouted.

He wrapped up the interview by wishing Ben the best of luck, and addressing the cameras, told the people of the Galactic Republic that he’d see them back here very soon. And just like that, the cameras stopped rolling. The night had passed by in a blur, and Rey couldn’t decide whether she felt like she had been sitting in her chair for hours or she felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. All the women were speaking in hushed whispers, trying to figure out who this mystery woman was. A lot of them turned accusing eyes toward Rey, but no one said anything to her, thankfully. Maybe they would have, if she’d stuck around longer.

Almost as soon as the cameras were off, Rey was fleeing from the Report Room, not wanting to catch Ben’s eye. She was so embarrassed that he’d told, literally, the entire Galaxy about her clumsiness. Yes, he didn’t admit it outright, but he might as well have.

When she reached her room, she threw her whole weight into the door, slamming it shut, her back against it. All in all, the Report had gone well. She felt she’d played her part well and she’d gotten over her nerves quickly. Cassian had a way of making you forget you were on camera and making you feel like you were talking to an old friend. Her part of the interview had gone very well indeed.

Ben’s, however, left Rey mortified. It would only be a matter of time before the other women figured out that he was talking about her. It wasn’t so much that they would find out she was clumsy, but it was the first time he’d openly admitted that she was a favorite. He’d implied it, yes, but now the target on her back was even bigger.

Instead of undressing and drawing a bath, as she normally would since she usually gave her maids evenings off, Rey went out to stand on her balcony. The nights on Coruscant were getting cooler, though the days were still hot, as late summer began to turn into autumn. The cool air hit her cheeks, soothing her irritated mood and helping her clear her head. She leaned forward to rest her forearms on the railing, closing her eyes and breathing in the fresh air. She didn’t miss the grueling work, the scorching heat, or the ice-cold nights on Jakku, but she did miss the open sky and the wide horizon that was free of high-rises and city lights.

She almost missed the knock on her door. It was odd, because she’d dismissed her maids for the night when they’d touched up her make-up before the Report, and even if they were here, they wouldn’t have knocked. And she couldn’t imagine why another one of the Selected would be here. She doubted any of them, no matter how close she became with them, would ever be having slumber parties.

It never crossed her mind that it would be Ben, so she was suddenly very glad that she hadn’t changed into her nightgown when she opened the door to reveal his smirking face. He swept past her and into her room, while her mouth was still half open in shock.

“Go on a date with me tomorrow,” he commanded, without even saying ‘hello’.

“Yes, hello to you too, your highness,” Rey said dryly.

He gave her an annoyed look. “Hello, Lady Rey. Now, what do you say?”

“I mean you aren’t really supposed to command me to go on a date. You’re supposed to _ask_. But, sure. Though, I doubt I really have a choice.”

He actually looked hurt at that. “Of course you have a choice,” he said, “Ugh, I’m sorry. I got off on the wrong foot with you, _again_. I want to take you on a date, because I think we need to start over.”

She looked at him suspiciously, wondering what his real motives were. When she didn’t answer right away, he hurried to say, “I mean, if we’re going to act like we’re in love, we might as well get along, right? We could at least be...friends? It was part of the deal anyway. I have to be nice to you.”

She sighed. The deal. Of course, it was the deal.

“Good to know you’re only taking me on a date because you _have_ to be nice to me,” she rolled her eyes.

“As if you’d want me to take you on an actual date. You’ve made it very clear that you’d rather not be here,” he muttered.

“No, you’re right. If we’re going to be pretending, we should probably at least be able to tolerate one another,” Rey conceded, trying to hide the disappointment that she didn’t understand why she had. She’d rather go on a date with a rathtar than the pompous arse in front of her.

“Good,” he said, clearing his throat, “I thought we’d go into the city. There’s this great open-air market near the castle I thought we could go to—”

He was cut off by Rey, who threw her arms around him with a squeal of excitement. “Do you really mean we can go out into the city?” she asked, realizing her mistake and pulling away quickly. But her eyes were still shining with excitement, their argument and her disappointment already forgotten.

He couldn’t help but return her toothy grin, “Of course. As I was saying, we can go to the market, and we can take food to have a rooftop picnic. Security will have to come along, obviously, but they’re good at making you feel like they aren’t there.”

“It sounds wonderful. Thank you, your highness, really.”

“Call me Ben. Please.”

Rey felt a thrill of excitement run up her spine. She could call him just Ben now.

Small victories.

“Well, thank you, Ben,” she said, still smiling up at him.

“Anytime, Rey,” he replied, testing just her name on his own lips, “Thank you, by the way. For not telling everyone how you _really_ feel about me during the Report tonight.”

She wanted to tell him that, for the most part, it really was how she felt, but she didn’t. Instead she said, “Well, I’m supposed to be falling head over heels, right? Kind of hard to convince people of that if I go on a live broadcast and talk all about how you insult me all the time.”

He gave her a sad smile, as if it disappointed him that she really had been acting during the Report. “At least I know your opinion on my culinary skills was the truth,” he joked.

“Ah, yes. I wouldn’t lie about good food.”

The stood in silence for a few awkward moments, unsure of what to do next. Ben seemed to suddenly realize that he was still in her room, and that she probably wanted to get ready for bed.

He cleared his throat. “Um, goodnight,” he stuttered, which was out of character for someone so confident, “I’ll see you tomorrow then, I guess. I’ll come collect you, here, at 1000 hours.”

He kissed her hand in farewell, but paused in the doorway, as if he’d forgotten something. “Oh and, uh, wear that color tomorrow.”

And the cocky, unbearable Ben was back. And then, he was gone, sauntering down the hall, before she ask him just who he thought he was, ordering her around about what to wear. Her excitement at their “date” faded slightly now that his arrogance had shown itself again. Just when he was doing so well. She was left, glaring at his back before she slammed the door shut.

Well. She knew what she _wouldn’t_ be wearing tomorrow.

Rey drew her bath, wondering what tomorrow would bring. She honestly wasn’t sure she and Ben could spend the whole day together without hurting each other. She groaned when she realized that there would no doubt be cameras everywhere, even just from the citizens of Coruscant, which meant she wouldn’t even be able to relax and enjoy being out of the castle for the first time. She’d have to be perfect, look perfect, and be madly in love with Ben all day. She had a headache just thinking about it.

She’d almost rather be on Jakku, scavenging, dealing with Plutt and his wild mood swings. Almost. She had to admit, Ben’s mood swings were much easier to deal with. Plus, he was infinitely more attractive.

She definitely could have chosen a worse person to pretend to fall in love with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late Star Wars day everybody!! I've been playing Jedi: the Fallen Order like crazy, and let me just tell you, Kylo Ren is my main man, but Cal Kestis could also get it. All the Star Wars men are just so dang good-looking! Trilla and Merrin, new in this chapter, are also from the Fallen Order.
> 
> Another slower chapter, but we do get a lot of Rey/Ben interaction. I've got some big things planned for the future of this story and I'm so excited!
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading and for those leaving kudos and commenting. You all seriously make my day! See you next chapter!
> 
> **** Pinterest link: https://pin.it/3DbFNrH ****


	8. Friends? Friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey have their first real date, but will it be a success?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS. I am ASHAMED at how long this chapter took me to get out. Life has just been insane, and work has been crazy! I hope this chapter is worth the wait! 
> 
> Also thank you all for keeping in touch, both here in the comments and on Pinterest! Thank you for checking up on me and encouraging me to write. You guys are seriously the best!
> 
> Thank you all for sticking around this long and I hope you enjoy this update, and also welcome to any new readers!
> 
> All that being said, I want to also say I know nothing about the actual layout of Coruscant or the Senate Building, so I twisted them to fit my story!
> 
> Enjoy :)

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 8

_Friends? Friends_

“You’re going to have to jump,” the voice called out from below Rey.

“Jump?! Are you absolutely mad?” she replied, fear radiating in her voice.

“I’ll catch you!”

There was a pause, a sigh, and a grudging addition, “I promise.”

Rey paused to catch her breath, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. She sent up a silent prayer, and pushed off, her feet falling into nothingness, and the rest of her body following close behind.

* * *

_Earlier that morning..._

“Miss! Lady Rey! REY!”

Rey jolted awake, blinking confusedly at the blurry figure of Rose, who was apparently trying to shake her shoulder out of socket.

“What? What?!” she said in a panic, practically leaping from her bed, as if the bedsheets had turned to snakes underneath her.

Rose began to laugh at her disheveled appearance. Her eyes were wide, and her hair stuck out in every direction, as if she’d been on the receiving end of an electric shock. “Oh, nothing as urgent as all that, my lady. It was just a very difficult task to wake you up this morning. It’s almost 900 hours!”

Rey could barely decipher what the girl was saying, through all the giggles. She did, however, understand that she’d slept in for _far_ too long. She tried to run a hand through her hair to smooth it, but her hand was soon caught in the tangles. She gave Rose a wry smile. “I don’t suppose you’d be able to help with this?”

“I’m afraid that mess is above my pay grade, my lady,” Rose laughed, “I’ll supply the dress. Paige and Bea will be up soon to help prepare you for your...date.”

She said the word date hesitantly, unsure if Rey was excited and willing to spill the beans about the Prince’s invitation. She’d sent a note last night, informing her maids of the date so they could prepare an appropriate outfit.

Rey was pulling a robe over her flimsy nightgown, but she paused as she fastened the tie around her waist, and her eyes connected with Rose’s. “Good. My hair certainly needs everyone’s attention today,” she said coolly, changing the subject.

Rose nodded, and opened the double doors to Rey’s closet, hunting for dress options.

When the petite woman disappeared into the closet, Rey flopped back onto the bed with a groan. While she was looking forward to going into the city and finally breaking the monotony of castle life, she was dreading the attention that the date would bring. She was sure that there would be swarms of cameras and people in the city today, desperate for a glance of her and the Prince. She would have to be so very _on_ today. Her smile. _On._ Her acting skills. Very much _on_. She needed to be perfect and completely, utterly in love with the Prince, or people on the HoloNet would start to tear their relationship apart. So far, the people could only speculate about the Selected based on the snippets they got from the Report and special events. And even then, Rey only had to keep up her act for a short time, while the cameras were rolling. Today, she would never know when she was on camera, so she’d have to be vigilant in her role.

Not to mention the attention she’d receive from the other women when they found out. It wouldn’t take long for the rumors to fly, probably starting downstairs with the staff, and passing from person to person like the plague, until the entire castle was abuzz. Her maids tried to control what was passed around about Rey downstairs, but something as big as this would be impossible to stop.

“Lady Rey! You aren’t asleep again, are you?”

Rose’s nervous voice cut through Rey’s thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

“No,” Rey groaned, sitting up and folding her legs under her, “What did you geniuses come up with for today?”

Rose beamed, holding out her left arm, which was burdened by several gowns. She grabbed the first with her right hand, which was a silky yellow number with spaghetti straps, and held it up for Rey to view.

She pursed her lips. “Hmm. I love the color, but I think it’s a bit plain for the occasion. I mean, I _am_ the first to get a date outside of the palace.”

Rose nodded seriously, laying the yellow dress next to Rey on the bed. “I agree. We’ll save this one for another day.”

The next dress she held up was white, with lacy detailing on the bodice and overlaying the skirt. Rey raised an eyebrow at Rose, who gave her a sheepish look. “It would certainly make a statement, my lady.”

“I am not wearing a wedding dress on this date.”

Rose gave her a sad look. “We’re getting you into it eventually. Besides, it’s hardly a wedding gown. It’s tea length! Not at all appropriate for a royal bride.”

Rey just rolled her eyes. “Next, please.”

Rose smiled a tight-lipped smile and held up the last dress.

Rey immediately knew this was the one, and Rose was soon lacing her into it. It was a nude color, with skinny straps and a gauzy skirt that flared out at the waist and floated down to just above her ankles. The bodice was the same color and inserted with boning to give it a structured look. Her favorite part, however, was the white stars that were embroidered on the top layer of fabric, clustered on the bodice and spread over the skirt.

It was the perfect balance between classy and fashionable. The boning in the bodice also made it near impossible for Rey to slouch, which was always a plus.

Paige and Bea entered the room in their usual flurry while Rose was fastening a pearl choker around her neck. She’d already decked her out in matching pearl earrings and bracelets.

Bea squealed when she saw Rey seated at the vanity, “I _knew_ that dress would be the one! Oh, miss, you look like a Queen! If you ignore the hair, of course.”

Rey swatted at her playfully. “Well do something about it, then!”

“You’re getting better at giving orders,” Paige said with mirth as she dabbed something Rey learned was called primer onto her face, “You may be Queen material after all.”

Rey smiled and closed her eyes as Paige worked her magic and Bea hummed as she styled Rey’s hair into loose waves.

Rey felt Bea pull her hair into a loose, low ponytail. She fastened pearl hair ties in a line down the ponytail, separating it into three sections, almost as a nod to her signature three bun style. Loose curls framed her delicate face, which glowed from Paige’s expert makeup application. She applied a light gloss to her lips, stepped into a pair of pointed-toe, matte white stilettos, and she was ready.

And not a moment too soon.

A light knock on the door caused all four of the ladies in Rey’s room to jump. Rey jumped up and rushed to the bathroom, realizing she’d forgotten to brush her teeth, leaving her poor maids to answer the door.

Paige, who’d decided she was the bravest of the bunch, opened the door to welcome the brooding figure of Prince Ben. She sank into a curtsy before stepping aside and letting the Prince into the room. She sent a grateful look to Rose, who was in the process of making Rey’s unruly bed. Ben’s eyes scanned the room for Rey, lips sinking into a deeper frown when he didn’t see her.

“Good morning ladies. Your Lady Rey is late once again, I see,” he commented dryly.

The maids just exchanged uneasy glances.

Rey exited the bathroom, breaking the tension.

“Terrorizing my maids, your highness?” she asked sweetly.

“Of course not,” he growled, “just waiting for you, as usual.”

She narrowed her eyes, “Oh, I apologize for being a whole 20 seconds late.”

They seemed to remember that Rey’s maids were still present at the same time. The three women stood with wide eyes flickering between the two of them, before curtsying and hurrying from the room.

Rey pressed her fingers to her mouth to conceal her smile, and even Ben flashed her a tiny grin. “They don’t know we fight regularly,” Rey admitted, a smile finally breaking though.

“Obviously.”

An awkward silence stretched between them before Ben cleared his throat.

“Well, we’d better get going. I have a lot of things planned for today and we need to get into the city.”

He offered Rey his arm, and she took it with surprise. It was hard for her to believe that he’d be romantic enough to plan out activities for their date. But then again, he did have to present an image to the media.

They were silent as they walked through the castle’s halls, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Rey leaned into Ben’s arm unconsciously, head almost resting on his shoulder.

He led her down the grand staircase that she’d seen on her very first day at the palace and out the door, where a transport and a security team were waiting. Rey eyed the team, catching the attention of Cal and Finn and giving them a small wave. She was pleased to see that they would be tagging along today. It made her wonder if Ben had chosen them because he knew she was comfortable with them, but she dismissed the thought. He wouldn’t know that unless he had been paying close attention, which she doubted. It had to be a coincidence.

Ben offered her a hand, helping her into the transport, following quickly behind her. It was roomy, with the driver seated in front of them, and the security team behind, both separated by screens. She took her seat across from Ben, who, to her surprise, knelt in front of her to fasten her safety belt.

“I can do that, you know. I’m not helpless,” she chided gently.

“Just let me do something nice for you, woman,” he replied, a slight edge to his voice.

She sighed as he moved back to his own seat, fastening his own belt as well. “So, what are these big plans I’ve heard so much about.”

Ben scoffed, “I can’t go around spilling all my secrets. It’s a surprise.”

Rey hoped her face didn’t reflect the shock she was feeling. Maybe he was a romantic after all.

“I will tell you that we’re going to the open-air market first.”

Rey gasped and clapped her hands together, “Oh, thank you Ben! I’ve never been to one, of course but Jannah was telling me about one on her home planet just the other day and I didn’t think I would ever get to see something like it!”

Ben looked at her with a kind of fascination, a slight smile playing on his lips.

She burned with a blush, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He blinked, maybe not realizing that he’d been staring. “No reason, really. You’re just so easy to please. By your reaction, you’d think I was gifting you a planet or something.”

“You might as well be. Really, I’d only ever been to Niima Outpost before I came to the castle. I’m just happy to be here.”

“Are you? Happy to be here, I mean?”

Rey almost replied with sarcasm, but his tone was so earnest that she stopped to think before she answered, “I am. I wasn’t, at first. This wasn’t my choice, you know. I was forced to enter the Selection, and I definitely resented my situation in the beginning. I may have been dropped into the lap of luxury, but Jakku was the only home I ever knew.”

“You were... _forced_ to enter the Selection? What do you mean?”

Rey took a deep breath. It was now or never. In fact, it was the perfect moment to tell Ben about her past, but something made her hesitant. What would he think about her once it was all out in the open? She wasn’t naïve enough to think he knew nothing about her sordid past, but it seemed different coming from her own lips. Yet, something about the concern in his face and his eyes locked with hers made her more willing to confide in him. She dropped her eyes to the floor.

“Well, as you probably know, I grew up alone on Jakku. My parents left me when I was very young, and I barely even remember them. I had to scavenge to survive, and I sold to a Crolute by the name of Unkar Plutt in exchange for portions of food.”

Rey paused, sneaking a glance at Ben, whose concerned look had melted into something that resembled sadness. His eyes were wide, but his brows were furrowed, and his lips curved downward. One of his hands twitched, as if he was going to extend it and take hers in it, but it remained glued to his lap.

“I was basically his slave until I came to the castle. No one else would buy anything I found. Scared of Plutt, I’m sure. When the news of the Selection broke, he basically told me to apply and send the earnings back to him if I was chosen, or he’d put me in a very _different_ line of work.” she gave Ben a meaningful look, and horror spread across his face as he realized, “He told me that day that my parents had sold me to him when I was younger. So, I was really and truly _his_. He could, and would, do whatever he pleased if I didn’t listen.”

She watched as Ben’s face turned from a horrified pallor to anger. A red flush crept up from his neck and his nostrils flared. His mouth opened and shut a few times. He was, for probably the first time in his life, at a loss for words.

Rey reached across the transport and placed a tiny hand over one of his large ones, which were balled into fists on his legs. His eyes shot to meet hers at the touch, but she looked away.

“It’s okay, Ben, really. I have you to thank for the fact that I never have to go back there again. When I leave the castle, I have a home in Coruscant. Honestly, I’ve long since given up on finding my parents.”

His hand relaxed, and he flipped it to clasp hers. “No, Rey. I made you a promise. I’ll help you find them, whatever it takes.”

The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. It told her how sorry he was, how he wouldn’t let her down.

The transport slowed to a stop, breaking the spell.

The Prince unbuckled his belt in a flurry, kneeling in front of her quickly, before she could figure out how to do it herself. “Thought you could do this yourself,” he mused with a smirk.

“Oh, shut up,” she quipped, giving him a small smile.

“Very intelligent response, my lady.”

She just rolled her eyes as he offered her his arm. She took it, and the doors of the transport opened with a hiss.

Rey blinked, eyes adjusting to the weak sunlight after sitting in the darkened interior of the ship. A chilly breeze swept across her shoulders, raising tiny goosebumps on her arms. Autumn was setting in, though the sun still provided some warmth. She’d have to remind her maids to prepare heavier garments.

Though Rey had driven through Coruscant on her way to the castle, nothing, even living in the luxury of the Selection, could have prepared her for actually walking the streets of the city. Her heels clicked on the walkway as Ben led her away from the transport and onto the sidewalk. Looking up to the sky, Rey found herself in awe of the hulking high rises that rose around her, some of which were so tall she couldn’t see the tops. Sunlight gleamed off of the shiny metal of the buildings, and she suddenly felt so very _small_. There were people everywhere, some beginning to crowd around them and call out greetings and questions, but most hurried on their way, eyes straight ahead, not even noticing the chaos around them. Transports zipped through the street and in the skies above. The noise, Rey thought, was deafening.

The security team fanned out around them, melting into the crowd and allowing Rey and Ben to walk without being intercepted by people on the street. Ben was right, though; they were extremely good at making themselves disappear. If she hadn’t seen them exit the transport and disappear into the hordes of people, Rey wouldn’t have known they were there.

A gentle tug on her arm reminded her that time wasn’t frozen around her as she studied her surroundings. She looked up at Ben, who was smiling a very rare smile at her. It was infectious, and she beamed right back at him, the weight of her secret past lifted from her shoulders. He tilted his head in the direction they needed to walk. Looped arm in arm, the pair set off at a leisurely pace down the streets of the Galactic City. Rey was quiet, drinking in the sights and sounds around her.

Ben watched her with awe. Her eyes darted back and forth, wanting to catch all of the details of the city, her ponytail swishing as she walked, and a serene smile cemented onto her face. She leaned into him, but her attention was elsewhere. It made a spark of happiness light deep in his chest to see her so content.

As they walked toward the All Planets Market, Ben pointed out buildings of interest or importance, capturing Rey’s attention even more fully.

“That right there,” Ben said, gesturing to a towering skyscraper to Rey’s right, “is Zelcomm Tower. During the days of the Empire it was the headquarters of a shipping company that was discovered to be a weapons smuggling operation.”

Each time Ben interjected, Rey stared, mouth slightly ajar at the structure in question, and pause. The crowds parted around her, though some would stop to listen to Ben’s stories as well. Every once in a while, Rey would catch a glance of cameras. That made her smile fall a bit. Though there were hundreds, even thousands of people, milling about the city, it felt as though the cameras were encroaching on her private time with the Prince, and stealing moments that should have been only theirs.

Rey was studying a particularly shiny high rise, with a glittering Holo on the front, when she realized that Ben had stopped. He was looking at her with an easy grin, amused by the fact that she was so easily entertained. When she smiled back, he turned away, focusing on something in front of them. She followed his gaze, eyes widening when she saw the tops of dozens of colored tents lining both sides of the street.

“This is the All Planets Market,” Ben told her, smiling down on her, removing his arm from hers and looping it around her waist instead, “As you can see, it stands in the shadow of one of the largest buildings in the city. The Senate Building.”

Rey could hardly breathe, though she told herself it was because of the vastness of the market and the beauty of the city, not Ben’s close proximity as he guided her to the market.

“It’s set up in sections,” he explained, “textiles here in the front, trinkets and handmade gifts and such in the middle, and food at the end, starting with fresh produce and ending with food that’s been cooked and is ready to eat. I think the idea is that the shopping is supposed to make you hungry.”

Rey laughed at that. “I’m always hungry,” she pointed out.

And Ben laughed. He actually laughed. It was a deep, rolling sound and she felt as though she could live with the sole purpose of making him do it again.

“Now that, I believe,” he replied, and the sound of his laugh was gone much too soon.

They flitted from stall to stall, Rey running her hands over each sample of fabric and occasionally pulling out a piece to show excitedly to Ben, who followed after her with a smile fixed on his usually stoic face.

Rey’s attention was never held by one thing for long, as she was constantly dashing from one piece to the next. That was, until they neared one of the last textile stalls and he watched her run her fingers down the length of a wool cloak, eyes fixed on the silk ribbon that fastened the thing at the neck.

“I think that’s the only thing I’ve seen you stop at for more than a few seconds,” Ben joked.

“Yellow is my favorite color,” was Rey’s simple reply.

“Huh. I would’ve guessed it to be pink, since you wear it so often.”

Rey tore her eyes from the yellow cloak to look at Ben. He seemed embarrassed that he’d admitted to paying attention to what she’d been wearing. “I love pink. It’s one of my favorite colors to wear. But there’s something about yellow. It reminds me of sunshine,” she said dreamily, “Not the kind of beating sun on Jakku. The kind of sunlight that warms my shoulders when I walk through the garden in the mornings, or when I stand on my balcony at sunset.”

She averted her eyes from his, suddenly embarrassed, but Ben felt like he was seeing her for who she really was for the first time. It delighted him that she was opening up to him, that they were actually talking instead of fighting. He snatched the cloak from the rack, startling her.

“What are you doing?” she questioned, a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Well, it’s going to be cold soon, so if you’re going to continue those walks through the garden, you’re going to need something else to warm those shoulders.”

“But, Ben, I don’t have any money,” she said, eyes cast down, self-conscious.

He barked a short laugh, “Rey, I have more money than I know what to do with.”

“I can’t let you do that. At least let me pay you back in some way.”

“Rey,” his tone was commanding, but not threatening, “I asked you on this date, correct?”

“Um. Yes.”

“Exactly, which means I have the privilege of paying for everything.”

He beamed, obviously pleased with himself and his reasoning. And again, Rey couldn’t help but smile back.

“Well, I guess I just owe you one,” she couldn’t help but add when he handed her the bag with her newly purchased cloak.

“A date? Well, I guess you could owe me one of those. I won’t object.”

Rey let out a peal of bubbly laughter, “Smooth, Ben. Very smooth.”

“Well it is part of the job description.”

He gave her a toothy grin and a glow of happiness bubbled in her chest. Who knew Ben could be this fun? She certainly hadn’t. He was like a whole new person outside of the castle. Her earlier trepidation had melted away and she was left feeling more relaxed than she had in a very long time. Is this what having a friend felt like? With the other Selected, she never knew who was really her friend, and who was pretending. With Ben, it just felt _easier_. She couldn’t say he didn’t have ulterior motives. He was using her to make his Selection look legitimate, after all. But there was something about him that made her feel at peace, at least when they weren’t fighting.

They continued their walk through the market, talking and laughing, very much the picture of a perfect couple. Rey perused the stalls with fresh fruit and vegetables, stopping to let Ben show her how to tell if something was perfectly ripe and ready to eat. She loved the way his face would light up when he talked about something so simple. It made him seem younger, less burdened by the stress of castle life.

She actually stopped in her tracks when they reached the section of the market that was home to stalls full of freshly prepared food. The smell of roasting meat, spices, and sweet desserts permeated the air, making Rey’s mouth water.

Soon Ben and Rey’s arms are piled high with various dishes and sweets.

“Okay,” Ben laughed, trying to balance all of the delicacies in his hand and still keep an arm around Rey’s waist, enjoying the easy intimacy the gesture brought, “I think we bought one of everything.”

“That’s the way I like it when food is involved,” was Rey’s easy reply.

“I’ve noticed.”

When she shot him a dirty look, he hurried to clarify, “Uh not that I think you eat too much, or, uh, anything like that! I kind of enjoy watching you eat. It’s, um, cute. You eat like you may never see food again, though now I suppose I understand why.”

A blush heated Rey’s face. He’d called her cute. In the back of her mind, the thought of their deal stirred, crushing any feelings of happiness the comment may have given her. Certainly, it was all a show. Her face fell a little before she remembered the cameras that were surely lurking around every corner. She forced a shy smile, looking up at him from under dark eyelashes, suddenly bashful, “So, where are you taking me now?”

He peered at her from the corner of his eyes, noticing the subject change, but not pushing her, “The Senate Building actually. Well, more accurately, the roof of the Senate Building. The view is breathtaking, and it’ll get us away from the crowds.”

As the day wore on, the crowds had gotten thicker. The market had hit its peak afternoon hours, and word of the Prince and Rey’s presence had spread, drawing people in droves. As he spoke, he packed their goodies into a bag.

Rey’s face lit up once more, bleak thoughts pushed away for the moment. “Do you really mean it, Ben? We can go all the way up there?”

Her voice was breathless, and she bounced up and down on her feet, clasping his now unladen arms with both of her hands. In response, he simply smiled and intertwined one of his hands with hers, leading her to a back entrance of the building and inciting a warm feeling in her chest. Ben punched a code into a keypad that rested in the middle of the right edge of the door, and it slid open. A blast of warmth hit Rey as they walked inside; the early autumn wind had left her feeling chilled.

The walls were dark grey, and the floors covered by black carpet, softening the noise of Rey’s heels as they walked down a narrow hall. At the end of the hall, Ben pushed a button on the wall, opening an elevator that shot them up to them roof at such a speed that Rey thought it would never be able to stop, but it slid to a smooth halt when it reached the top of the building’s dome.

When the doors glided open with a faint hiss, Rey felt a gasp catch in her throat, but it wasn’t caused by the view of the city, though it was magnificent. She gasped because the opened doors revealed a beautiful picnic scene.

A red quilt was splayed out on the flat top of the dome, with fluffy pillows piled high on two sides. Two plates and sets of silverware sat across from one another on the blanket, between the pillows, a wine bottle and glasses between them. Soft yellow lights were strung between poles, giving the entire scene a soft glow.

Tears sprung to Rey’s eyes. She was touched that he’d gone through so much trouble to make her happy. No one had ever done that before. A light hand on her lower back guided her to sit on the blanket and disappeared when Ben took his place across from her, pouring wine in their glasses and unpacking the food.

“Ben,” she began, her voice wavering and eyes shining with unshed tears, “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you. Even if I go home tomorrow or next week, I want you to know that this is the loveliest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

He reached out to brush away a tear that had escaped with his thumb. “Rey. You can thank me by helping me eat all this food before it gets cold, and by gracing me with your presence.”

She laughed shakily, quickly brushing the remaining tears from her cheeks with her fingers. “You’re a cheap date, your highness.”

“Well, one of us has to be,” he chuckled.

His face turned serious. “And you don’t have to worry. You aren’t going anywhere.”

Rey blushed at the implication, distracting herself with the food that was now piled high on her plate.

“I mean, we did have a deal, after all,” he added quickly.

The warm feeling that had been building in her chest was replaced with icy cold. She’d let herself get swept up in the day and forget about the deal. “Right. Of course.”

She should have known that his kindness was all an act. It was easier to believe that anyway, than to let herself think that he might be starting to feel something for her. They’d had a wonderful day together, but she couldn’t let herself be naïve enough to consider that he might actually like her. And yet, she couldn’t fully convince herself that it had _all_ been an act. He’d seemed so at ease, and his actions had seemed so genuine.

“At least we’re finally getting along well enough to make it believable,” Rey said quietly, forcing some cheer into her voice.

“Yeah.”

The first awkward silence of the day hung heavy in the air. Ben cleared his throat.

“So, uh, friends?”

He was extending his wine glass toward Rey.

She swallowed her disappointment and forced a weak smile. “Friends.”

Their glasses clinked together, and the sound seemed to echo above the noise of the city.

Rey took a big gulp of her wine, resisting a shudder at the bitter taste she was not yet used to, but enjoying the warmth it brought back to her chest. She didn’t want to let their brilliant day be ruined, but she couldn’t help but feel different. The easy feeling between them was gone. And as if the universe had picked up on her mood change, it began to rain.

Not soft, sprinkling rain. It began to pour. Huge, fat droplets pelted the pair, who were soaked in seconds. Ben jumped up, offering Rey his hand. She ignored it, pushing herself up off the quilt, the skirt of her dress now clinging to her legs. She pawed at her face, trying to push away the strands of hair that were now plastered to her cheeks. Her ponytail stuck to her back, sending water rolling down her skin and chilling her to the bone.

Ben didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that she’d turned her nose up at his help, instead running to open the doors of the elevator.

Only, they didn’t open. He slammed a closed fist against them. “Damn!”

Rey jumped at his shout.

“I forgot they change the code to the roof every couple of hours. They’ve had trouble with people squatting up here. It’s a safety issue, really. I should have had the security team stay in contact instead of sending them back to the transport to pick us up here. Rey, I’m sorry.”

He turned around at the sound of her laughter, “The almighty Prince Ben didn’t think of everything?”

Ben scowled, clearly not amused at her joke. He started to pace back and forth, his long strides carrying him easily across the length of the roof.

“I have an idea, but you aren’t going to like it.”

Rey gave him a worried look.

“And,” he continued, “it stays between us.”

She swallowed, but stayed silent, waiting for him to speak again.

“Okay so, I don’t know if you got a good look at the building when we came in, but this dome is designed in sections, meaning that there’s a sort of platform below us. If I can get down there, I could probably open the elevator door from the inside and let you in.”

“How are you going to get down there?”

“Well, if I slide down, I should be able to land on the platform.”

Rey’s eyes went wide in horror. “No! You can’t do that! I mean it’s raining, and the roof is wet. I—what if you miss, Ben?”

“I won’t miss.”

“There has to be another way.”

Rey watched in fear as Ben removed his suit jacket, shaking his head. “There isn’t, Rey. I screwed up. Pretty badly. I have no way to contact the team and get the code, and we can’t stay up here forever. They won’t know anything has gone wrong in hours, at least.”

Rey turned her back as he walked to the edge of the roof, unable to watch.

“Rey.”

She turned. He was sitting on the edge, feet dangling over the curve of the dome.

“It’s going to be okay. I’ll be right back.”

“No, Ben please—”

Her voice cut off in a scream as he pushed himself off and disappeared over the side. She ran to the edge, the sound of her heels on the hard roof drowned out by the pounding of the raindrops.

She peered over the edge at the platform below, searching for any sign of Ben, but her vision was obscured by the rain and she couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Ben!”

A pause.

“Ben, please answer me!”

She began to shake. Tears mingled with the rain falling on her cheeks. How had this day gone so terribly wrong? She was stuck on the roof of the Senate Building, with no way down, and the Prince of the Republic may very well be dead. She imagined him, bleeding on the street below, and let out a sob. She couldn’t be the woman who sent the Prince plunging from the roof to his death.

Her sob turned into a shuddering gasp when a voice called, “So I have good news and I have bad news!”

“Ben! You’re alive, thank the Maker!”

“That’s the good news!”

Rey let out a strangled laugh. Of course he’d make light of this situation, being his typical arrogant self.

“You’re killing me here! What’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is that I can’t open the door to the roof down here either. The stairs are fair game, but only the elevator reaches all the way to the roof.”

The color drained from Rey’s face. “Can’t you just go down and get help?”

“I’m not leaving you up here alone!”

“Why do you have to be nice to me only when it involves me jumping from a roof?!”

“Excuse me,” he shouted back, offended, “I’ve been very pleasant. All day!”

“Oh wow, a whole day. Must have been exhausting for you to be anything but your usual rude self!”

Rey knew she was lashing out because she was afraid, but she wasn’t aware enough to stop herself. She imagined him rolling his eyes on the platform below, a skill which he’d perfected.

“Rey. You’re going to have to jump.”

His voice was patient, and he said the words slowly.

“Jump? Are you absolutely mad?!”

Rey’s voice, however, was more of a squeak—high-pitched and shaky. She knew her question was pointless. She knew she would have to jump, but a small part of her wanted to keep him talking, to delay the inevitable.

“I’ll catch you!”

She said nothing, using every bit of her self-control to not voice her doubts.

Below her, Ben sighed.

“I promise.”

Gnawing on her lower lip, she sat down on the edge of the dome, feet dangling in open air. Before she could change her mind, she pushed off, sliding down the curve of the dome and into a void of empty space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! Cliffhanger! Sorry, but not really!
> 
> As always, thank you to every single person reading this and thank you for all your kind comments and kudos!
> 
> Two very important questions for you all to answer in the comments!
> 
> 1\. The special event that Rey is as of yet unaware of is...a Halloween ball/masquerade! I have some costume ideas that I'd love for you all to weigh in on! Would you rather see Rey as:  
> -One of the seasons (I lean towards spring for her)  
> -The night sky  
> -The sun  
> -A peacock  
> -A butterfly  
> -A phoenix  
> And if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments!!
> 
> 2\. I have more ideas for Reylo AUs! Would you rather read one set in Civil War era America or the Wild West??  
> I have ideas for both but I have no idea which one to start first (after this story is finished of course) (maybe)
> 
> Thanks for reading both of my long-winded notes, if you've made it this far, and see you next chapter!
> 
> **** Pinterest link: https://pin.it/49BJxPJ ****


	9. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben end their date on a sour note, and a test results in another elimination. Rey discovers a mysterious note in her room, but will she answer?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! I'm BACK...again! I just want to thank you all again for sticking around and checking up on me while I was gone! I'm finally settled back into a constant routine, and that means more time to write! I think I'm going to try to update every Saturday or Sunday, so I can have a more consistent schedule for writing.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thanks so much for reading!

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 9

_Falling_

Falling, Rey decided, was the most terrifying and yet exhilarating feeling. It was a unique sensation; nothing else was comparable to it. The fear of her possible death was overshadowed by a sense of weightlessness. Freedom. She’d felt it before, sliding down into the belly of abandoned starships on Jakku, but this time she was unburdened by ropes and a growling stomach.

She’d been through hard times, her entire life had been hard, in fact, but she’d never quite been forced to come to terms with her death. In the short moments that she found herself suspended in the air, seemingly between life and death, all she could think was that she felt _free_. Time seemed to slow, and an odd roar filled her ears before she found herself in Ben’s waiting arms.

As soon as her body landed against Ben’s solid chest, it was like coming out from under water. The rushing sound left her ears and the world was clear again.

He staggered under her weight, taking a couple short steps backwards. He gave her a look that she could only describe as _confused_. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He shook his head, as if to clear it, “Uh. I’m just surprised you actually jumped. That’s all.”

She furrowed her brows at the odd tone in his voice. “O—okay. Well, I’m glad you have _so_ much faith in me.”

“Well it was looking questionable there for a minute.”

“You asked me to jump off of a roof! Did you expect me to do it with no hesitation?!”

The pair locked eyes, glaring before they realized that Rey was, in fact, still cradled in Ben’s arms, and their faces were only inches apart. Rey could see the drops of water collecting on his eyelashes and feel his breath on her face. It registered faintly in her mind that he smelled like pine and a hint of something sweet, almost like vanilla, before he was setting her on her feet, taking a step backwards, as if she were a live wire. Rey shivered slightly at the loss of his warmth, thoroughly soaked by the rain that still plummeted from the now blackened sky. Thick, angry clouds had blocked the warmth of the sun.

Ben cleared his throat nervously, turning his attention to the door in front of him. “Well. I guess we should get a move on. The team is probably on their way with the transport by now.”

The door to the stairs hissed open. He gestured for Rey to go first and followed close behind her when she entered the warm air of the building.

The heat of the stairwell was intense after the chill of the rain and Rey’s wet dress clung to her uncomfortably. Her hair had worked its way out of her ponytail and was now stuck to her neck and face. She shook it out with her hands as Ben led the way down the stairs, placing the pearl hair ties around her wrists.

“Yes, thank you. I needed a shower anyway.”

Rey’s hands froze in her hair. Ben had turned around a few stairs below her, staring up at her with a raised eyebrow. She gave him a sheepish smile. “Oops. Sorry.”

His usually stony face cracked into a grin. “I suppose I can forgive. But I won’t forget.”

He gave her a playful wink and turned his back to her to continue walking down the steps. Rey gulped, knowing this meant he would be out for revenge, but smiled anyway. He was back to the easy-going Ben that she’d spent most of the day with.

When she felt as if they’d been descending forever and her feet began to hurt from the heels she’d refused to take off, she finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel: the door leading to the hall. It slid open when Ben reached it, revealing the hall they’d used to get to the elevator earlier in the day. She let him take her hand as she stepped into the hall, sliding his fingers in between hers. It felt natural, easy.

That is, until her heel broke with a _snap,_ and she tumbled forward, forcing Ben to let go of her hand and catch her with both of his arms. She grabbed his arms, steadied herself and regaining her balance as much as she could with one heel gone.

A laugh bubbled in her throat until she was almost doubled over, her hands still gripping his forearms, laughing loudly. “This is ridiculous!” she wheezed.

Ben began to laugh with her. “What did you say?”

“I _said_ this is ridiculous!”

Their eyes met, broad smiles on their faces. She drew her lower lip between her teeth, looking down in embarrassment and releasing his arms. He surprised her, though, by taking a step forward and hooking a finger under her chin, gently guiding it upward so she was looking up into his face again. His deep brown eyes flickered down to her mouth before they reconnected with her own. Rey’s heartbeat quickened as he started to lean in towards her. She resisted the urge to step back, uncomfortable and close to panic at the fact that he was so close.

The spell was broken when the door leading to the street clanged open. She jumped back, away from Ben, releasing a breath in relief. Her head snapped around to see that Ben’s security team had entered the hall from the outside. She edged away from him, putting a comfortable amount of distance between them, and settling down on a long bench. The team’s uniforms were wet, indicating that the rain was still pouring down outside. She met Cal’s eyes, which widened at the sight of her soaked dress and hair. She gave him a little shrug and they shared a smile.

Finn, who was the leader of the small group, was talking with Ben.

Ben relayed the events, telling Finn and the team how he and Rey had gotten caught in the rain, but notably omitting the part about how they’d jumped off the roof of a skyscraper. Rey shivered. Now that they were out of the stuffy stairwell, she was chilled from her wet clothes.

The security team had brought the transport, but since the street was closed down for the market, they couldn’t bring it right up to the building. The group would have to walk a few blocks. In the pouring rain.

Rey covered her mouth with her hand to conceal her smile. The universe really had it out for them today. Ben looked at her and fought a smile of his own, pulling his jacket back on now that it had dried a little. He pulled his tie from the pocket of his coat, tying it quickly to prepare to be thrown back into the public eye. He doubted the cameras would be far away, even in the crazy weather.

As she watched him straighten his outfit, Rey’s heart stuttered. She was realizing how special this day had been. It might not have gone the way she’d expected, but it was nice to see how Ben really was, outside of the palace and free from the burden of his responsibilities. Even now, he was stepping back into the character he had to play when he was out in public. He had to be neat and orderly—see also: _stiff_ —in public, at all times. It made her a little sad to see the mask slipping back onto his face.

She tore her gaze from Ben only when she felt a warm, slightly damp jacket fall around her shoulders. She jumped, looking over her shoulder to see Cal standing behind her, easy smile on his face. “Sorry to startle you. It’s just, you were shivering.”

She gathered the jacket around her shoulders, pulling the collar closer together to enclose herself in its warmth, but leaving her arms out of the sleeves. Cal was quite tall, so the jacket hung to almost her knees. Now that he mentioned it, she was indeed very cold. “Thank you, Cal.”

She gave him a warm smile, trying to keep her eyes from wandering to the white shirt that stretched across muscles that were _much_ more visible in the absence of his jacket. She shook her head slightly, embarrassed that she’d even noticed, especially since she was on a date with _Ben_.

“I’m surprised—” he started, at the same time she said, “So wh— “

They laughed, Rey tilting her head back slightly and gesturing for Cal to speak.

“I’m surprised that you and his highness didn’t call us earlier, with the rain and all. We could’ve been here much quicker, and you probably wouldn’t be wet and shivering.”

He tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow as he finished.

Rey hesitated, remembering that Ben hadn’t told Finn the _entire_ story of their escape from the roof. He’d left out one very important detail: the jump.

“Well, we thought we’d wait it out and see if the rain would stop, and by the time we realized it was here to stay, it was pretty much time for you all to come pick us up.”

She rattled off the lie with unsettling ease. It must be a habit she picked up from Ben, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. Cal, luckily, seemed convinced and didn’t dwell on the subject.

“Ah, I see. Well, I hope the weather didn’t ruin your, uh, date.”

He shifted uneasily, turning his head to study the room instead of meeting her eyes. Rey furrowed her brows, wondering how the conversation had turned awkward so quickly.

“It’s certainly one I won’t forget in a hurry,” she said with a nervous laugh, hoping to relieve the inexplicable tension that had filled the space between them.

To no avail, it seemed. Cal shot her a strained, close-lipped smile before giving a curt nod and walking back to join the rest of the team. Rey’s eyes, set under furrowed brows, followed his back as he took his place near Finn, looking anywhere but at her.

A touch on her shoulder made her jump.

Ben had come up behind her, laying a massive hand on her shoulder. He was looking at Cal’s jacket under his fingers, his brows drawn together. She watched him make the connection between the jacket around her shoulders and the only member of his team not wearing one, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two. The realization dawned on her, albeit slowly. The reason why Cal had been acting so strange. He had undoubtedly seen Ben approaching and decided it would be best for his own health if he made himself scarce. The prince seemed to have that effect on people. He drew a bit of the silky fabric between his fingers, rolling it between them and staring as if it was a puzzle to be solved.

Cold air kissed the skin on Rey’s arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps as the jacket left her shoulders and fell unceremoniously to the floor in a heap. She stared at it, afraid to twist around and look Ben in the eyes, though she could hear him shuffling around behind her.

The chill that had crept into Rey’s skin vanished as Ben’s own jacket fell around her shoulders, a little soggy, but warm from his body heat. His hands paused on her shoulders as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Much better.”

A delightful little shiver ran down her spine. She smiled a little, hearing the smirk in his voice, but then frowned as she recognized a warning as well. She spun around to look at him. “Jealous?” she asked, jerking an eyebrow up and lifting her chin in a challenge.

Her frown deepened when he scoffed. “Of course not. But that,” he jerked a thumb at the jacket on the floor, “wouldn’t exactly be a good look in the press.”

Rey wasn’t exactly sure why, but his blasé attitude made her want to slap him. She gave him a murderous look. “That’s really all you care about, isn’t it? Your precious image and your lavish lifestyle.”

The prince, for once, seemed taken aback that she was speaking to him that way, his face twisting with confusion before quickly hardening back into his indifferent mask. It was so brief, she could’ve missed it. “I’m the prince, what else am I supposed to care about?”

“Um, how about someone other than yourself for a change?” she hissed. “Isn’t that what rulers are _supposed_ to do? Care about their people?”

“I’m not the king yet,” he sniffed.

“And thank the Maker for that.”

They were standing almost toe-to-toe now. Rey could hear the pounding of the rain outside as she met Ben’s narrowed eyes with a scowl of her own.

“You try my patience, my dear,” he murmured, “Don’t forget why you’re here.”

Rey felt a pang in her chest. She couldn’t understand what had soured their almost-perfect day so quickly. His reminder that she was only his plaything, his tool to get the freedom he craved, stung.

“I am _not_ your dear,” she whispered back, venom lacing every word.

Uncomfortable at his closeness, she took a step back, turning to walk towards the security team, every member of which was trying to hide they fact that they were looking anywhere but at her and the prince arguing. Her progress was halted when an iron grip appeared around her wrist. Ben pulled her back, spinning her to face him and placed his other hand on the small of her back to draw her in closer. They were so close, the tip of her nose brushed against his.

“As far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, that’s _exactly_ what you are. And you’d do well not to forget it,” he leaned down to croon in her ear.

Her face flushed with anger and she squirmed in his grip, but he held her fast, his lips quirked up in a smirk. One of his hands still held her wrist, so she brought her other hand up to slap the look right off his arrogant face.

Rey’s hand hit empty air at the same time she felt Ben’s hands leave her body. He’d released her and stepped away so quickly that she hadn’t realized what was happening. He stood a few feet away from her now, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

“Sorry darling, but you’ll have to be quicker than that.”

She wanted to spit at him. Instead, she squared her shoulders, snatched Cal’s coat from the floor, and walked stiffly over to join the security team. She shrugged off Ben’s jacket as she went, throwing it to the floor behind her without looking back. Their progress from this afternoon was well and truly out the window. The sweet, caring Ben that had spent the day with her was gone and dread crept into her mind. His little fit had just confirmed her worst fear: Ben wasn’t any different from the conceited, selfish arse she’d thought him when they first met. He was just _very_ good at acting, and that was what today had been. An act.

Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. She’d let herself begin to hope that Ben actually enjoyed spending time with her and wasn’t just trying to make himself look good in the press and in the eyes of his parents. She’d never had a friend before, and she thought he might be her first, but now she felt lonelier than ever.

She ignored Cal’s concerned look when she handed him back his coat wordlessly. Ben came up beside her and took her arm.

“I hate you,” she said flatly, eyes straight ahead.

“I know.”

He at least had the good sense to sound a little disappointed.

* * *

The moment Rey crossed the threshold of her room, her maids were swarming her.

“How did it go?”

“You’re soaked!” 

“Did the rain cut your date short?”

Rey made her excuses to them, too exhausted to pretend and gush that the day had been everything she’d dreamed of and more. She claimed a headache, assuring them that she didn’t need anything, just a hot bath and some sleep.

Paige ushered Rose and Bea out the door, closing it behind them. She drew Rey a bath, sprinkling an oil that smelled like sweet mint leaves in the water to help with her ‘headache’.

“I’ll bring up some tea, maybe some wine as well?”

Paige’s eyes searched hers, sensing that something was off, but not wanting to pry. It made Rey feel a little guilty about lying.

“That would be lovely, Paige. Thank you.”

Paige gave her a small curtsy and left the room without a word. Rey was grateful for her discretion.

Minutes later, she was submerged in water hot enough to burn her worries away, if only for a brief time. It helped that she was several glasses of wine into the bottle Paige had sent. The wine warmed her chest, even as the water scorched the rest of her body. The sweet smell of peppermint and the cool, tingly feeling the oil left on her skin contrasted with the warmth of the wine and water. It was altogether a delicious, confusing sensation.

Her mind, though fuzzy with wine, worked overtime to make sense of the day, even as she tried to force the thoughts from her head so she could finally relax. Though she suspected that many more glasses of wine would do the trick nicely.

The ride back to the palace had been uneventful. They’d been accosted by cameras, even as they walked through the thundering rain to reach the transport. Ben had made a show of once again removing his jacket and shielding her with it, though it made no difference once it was soaked through with icy rain. The reporters, however, had gobbled it up. And Rey, forced to follow along with it, had taken the Prince’s hand and entwined it with her own, as if to show appreciation for the seemingly kind gesture.

She’d dropped it as if it were a spiky sand urchin the minute the transport doors had closed. She and the Prince hadn’t spoken, even when they reached the palace and departed for their separate rooms.

Rey had meant it. When she told Ben she hated him, she’d meant it. His words had made her feel so small, so insignificant. They’d made her realize that he wasn’t interested in being her friend, or her confidant. He was only interested in using her until she had nothing more to offer him, until their deal was fulfilled, and he was free from the Selection at last. Then he would brush her aside like she was nothing.

She couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to believe that she wasn’t.

Nothing.

Salty tears began to run down her face, mingling with the bathwater that was growing cold.

And yet there was something in the back of her mind that wouldn’t allow Rey to fully give into her hate for the Prince. The anger that he’d displayed when she told him about Plutt, that had been genuine. And he’d seemed legitimately nervous when he’d extended the offer of friendship. But she couldn’t quite forgive him either, not just for confirming what she’d always thought about herself. That she was insignificant, destined to be forgotten, even as the potential winner of the Prince’s Selection, if their plan went accordingly. But she also couldn’t forgive him for his selfishness. He’d all but dismissed her statement that he needed to start caring about things other than himself, and that didn’t sit well with her.

Rey had seen firsthand the suffering that plagued the people of Jakku. Hell, she’d suffered right along with them, and she was sure that Jakku wasn’t the only planet whose people were in anguish. In fact, she was certain she could’ve ended up in far worse places than the desert planet she’d called home. She may have been sheltered, but people in Niima outpost loved to talk. Rumors of planets where wars raged between their peoples and places where slavery and prostitution ran rampant hadn’t been forgotten now that she was safe in the palace. She would never been in a position to help, but Ben already was, and she couldn’t forgive that he only wanted to use that position to live his life in luxury and extravagance. Han and Leia were wonderful rulers, but even they could not know everything that went on within their borders.

Rey cursed when she realized that she might have thrown away her only chance to bring those issues to their, or Ben’s, attention. He’d never listen to her now. He’d made it very clear that she was just his puppet to manipulate the system.

She downed another glass of wine, wondering if finding her parents was really worth degrading herself this way, but the wine was making her head too fuzzy to truly think about the answer.

She rose from the water, swaying slightly and stretching out her stiff, now cold limbs. She’d lingered in the bath too long and had drank too much wine. The path to her bed had been treacherous, but she made it in one piece, stumbling with every step she took.

When she finally collapsed on the soft down of the mattress, she had only enough time to burrow into the fluff of her comforter before falling into deep sleep, still wrapped in her towel.

* * *

The first thing she noticed when she awoke, was that she’d slept for far too long. The second thing was the headache that pounded against her skull, exacerbated by the light that shone through the window. She groaned, pulling her blankets up over her eyes to shield them from the infernal sunlight that had been exposed as Paige drew back the curtains.

“Miss! You have to get up. You’ve slept through breakfast.”

Rey’s bones felt like lead. She rose with achingly slow movements, the hammering in her skull worsening with every inch. Her stomach turned at the thought of breakfast. Thankfully, she had enough energy to drag herself to the toilet before hurling up the remains of her dinner. Acid burned the back of her throat as the wine also made its reappearance. Paige’s steady hands held back her hair.

“I was afraid of this,” Paige said, her tone scolding, “I didn’t wake you for breakfast this morning because I knew there was no way you’d be presentable. Really, Lady Rey? A _whole bottle_ of wine? At your size, I’m surprised I didn’t find you dead this morning.”

Her hands had left Rey’s hair, and Rey heard the shower sputter to life. She’d never used it before now.

Through bleary eyes, Rey surveyed the bathroom. The tray with the wine and tea from last night was gone. She was sure that’s how Paige knew the amount of wine she’d consumed. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, though she was grateful that Paige had been the one to find it, and that she had let her sleep.

She peeled herself from the floor, allowing Paige to unravel her from the fluffy white towel she’d passed out in and usher her into the shower.

Icy water blasted her awake. Her head throbbed, but despite that and her shivering, she felt marginally better when she emerged. She brushed her teeth, clearing her mouth of its sour taste, then forced down the bland breakfast–well, lunch–Paige had brought up.

She was nibbling on a piece of toast when her maid emerged from the closet with an inky black gown. She groaned at the sight of it.

“Stop whining and drink some more water. It’ll help with the headache,” Paige snapped, “I don’t know what happened with his Highness yesterday. I don’t want to know. But what I _do_ know is that something did happen, and that means you’re done looking like a frilly little girl. You need to start acting like real competition.”

Rey choked a bit on her water. “Real competition? I was his first date! And his first date outside of the palace!”

“That may be true, but it doesn’t make those women see you as anything but a silly child who’s playing dress up. You need to act like you _want_ to be here, my lady. And to do that, you have to start looking like you’re here to win. Enough of the lace and the flowers and the pink, at least for now. We need to make them _afraid_ of you.”

Rey was stunned into silence. If Paige had noticed her lack of enthusiasm for the Selection, who else had? She took one look at the steel in her most trusted maid and nodded. If she was going to trust anyone in this palace, it would be Paige.

She hardly recognized herself when Paige had finished. The black gown, fitted at the waist, flowed down to the floor like a fountain of oil, only interrupted by the tanned skin of her right leg peeking through a slit that was cut dangerously high on her thigh. A deep V ran down her chest and almost to her navel. Sheer black sleeves billowed around her arms, ending at cuffs on her wrists. A thick, lacy choker was fashioned on her neck, black diamonds shimmered on her ears, and a ring in the shape of a black snake curled around one of her fingers.

Her eyes were lined with heavy black eyeshadow, though shimmering gold sparkled from the center of the lid. Blood red lipstick stained her lips. She stepped into the same shoes she’d worn with her burgundy dress for the report and Paige laced them up her legs. Her hair was curled softly and pinned over one shoulder.

Like they’d done with her last gown, her maids had transformed her from a silly child into a dangerous opponent. She looked like a Queen. She only wished she could _feel_ like one.

“I didn’t even ask,” she addressed Paige once she was ready, “Where am I going? It’s too early for dinner.”

The task of leaving her room didn’t seem as daunting as before. The toast had settled her stomach and it had taken her long enough to get ready, with only one maid, that her headache had been reduced to a dull twinge and was no longer throbbing.

“Afternoon tea with the royal family. You’re a bit overdressed, but we need for you to keep standing out. There’ll be a lot of cameras and probably an elimination after,” Paige warned.

Rey forced a worried look onto her face, though she knew she was safe. Maybe. What if Ben had tired of their constant fighting and decided to send her home?

The worry on her face became real.

“Well, at least you have the good sense to be worried,” Paige said wryly, “Come on. I’ll walk you down.”

When Paige left her at the door to a dining room she’d never seen, she felt as though she was being thrown to the wolves. She barely had time to gather her thoughts before the door guards stationed there opened the massive double doors.

Five round tables were spaced throughout the room, which was smaller and seemed more intimate than the massive dining room they usually occupied at dinner. A few of the Selected, including Kaydel and Zorii, were already seated. Though, oddly, they weren’t seated together. When she reached one of the tables, she realized why. Place cards sat on top of each plate, with their names written in elegant script.

When she saw her name sandwiched between Sabine and Bazine, she knew Ben was punishing her. Thankfully, neither of them was present yet and Jannah sat across from her.

Four Selected would sit at each table, with one member of the royal family, Jannah filled her in.

“It’s kind of an odd way for us to really spend time with the royal family for the first time,” she concluded, “I wonder who’ll sit with us.”

Rey just prayed it wouldn’t be Ben. “I get the feeling this isn’t really about spending time with the family. I think it’s a test.”

“A test?”

“Yes. I think they’re testing us on the social graces and manners that Maz has taught us. Think about it. If they told everyone they were testing us, we’d all be on our guards and ready for it. This way, it just seems like a simple tea before dinner. And with the family spaced out, they’ll be able to watch everyone.”

Jannah chewed on her nails. “So you think there will be an elimination after this?”

Rey pitied her. “I think it’s safe to say that there will be an elimination after every big event. He can’t keep us here forever.”

She hoped she was right. The sooner she got to leave this gilded cage, the better.

Their conversation screeched to halt when Sabine and Bazine arrived together, clearly unimpressed with the seating arrangement. Sabine looked her up and down, curling her lip and looking away in disgust. Bazine simply looked at her like she was a bug to be squashed. She ignored their glares, and the fact that neither of them extended the same treatment to Jannah, and instead busied herself with studying the table.

Dainty white teacups with gold trim sat on matching saucers to the right of their plates. Tiered, round trays sat piled high with finger sandwiches on the bottom and scones, biscuits, and sweet, thick cream on the two top tiers. Tiny jars of loose-leaf tea sat in clusters in front of each woman. Rey studied the labels, deciding that she’d go with a simple black tea that had hints of something called bergamot, which gave it an earthy flavor. Deciding now would make her look more decisive later, when the servers came around. Champagne flutes sat on the left side of their plates.

Calling back to her lessons with Maz, Rey labelled this a ‘full’ afternoon tea. The presence of savory foods instead of just sweets indicated this to her.

As the Selected filtered in, Rey was increasingly aware of how out of place she looked. Everyone else, while they thankfully all wore full-length gowns like hers, was wearing various pastels. Some wore pale blues or greens, while others opted for yellows and pinks. Kaydel had gone so far as to wear white. She looked positively bridal, and Rey had to admit to feeling a pang of jealousy. Qi’ra, in typical fashion, had worn red, so at least she stood out as well. One woman, whose name eluded her, had worn a ghastly shade of orange

When the royal family entered, the Selected stood and curtsied, only sitting when each royal member was seated as well.

Lina, the Queen’s only daughter, now sat across from Rey. Ben was seated with a group of women she largely didn’t know, including the poor girl in the orange dress, although the sight of Qi’ra by his side made her want to scowl.

The Queen sat at Zorii and Merrin’s table, and the King sat between Kaydel and Trilla.

“Well, since this is a test, although none of you were supposed to know that. Can anyone tell me what kind of tea this is?”

Lina’s tone was straight and matter-of-fact, like she didn’t want to know any of them, she just wanted to see what they were made of.

Rey, who’d already suspected this was a test, recovered from the shock of Lina’s question quicker than the others and answered first.

“It’s a full afternoon tea, your Highness,” she said, looking the Princess dead in the eyes, refusing to let her nerves show.

“Also known as what?”

Lina didn’t take her eyes off of Rey, indicating that it was her question to answer.

“Low tea, Highness.”

“And what makes you think so?”

“The presence of savory foods, as well as just sweets.”

Lina didn’t look impressed, and for a moment Rey was horrified that she might be wrong.

“And how do you know it isn’t a high tea? Savory food is also served then.”

Bazine opened her mouth to answer but scowled when Rey again beat her to it.

“High tea is usually later in the evening for one, but the food served is much heavier than what we have today. It’s not finger food.”

Lina dipped her head. “Very good.”

For one so young, she made Rey feel like a child again. She guessed that’s what happened when a person was raised with the best tutors in the Galaxy. Though, she couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of pride in her chest, like she’d taken the first step in being real competition, like Paige had advised.

The other women sure looked at her like she was. Even Jannah looked put out.

The tea continued in similar fashion all afternoon. Lina kept grilling them, but Rey couldn’t help but stare over the Princess’s shoulder at Ben.

He looked utterly bored. Qi’ra had seemingly scooted her chair closer to his, as she looked to be much closer to him than Aayla, who sat at his other side. Rey wanted to laugh when she noticed that he was leaning ever so slightly away from her. He seemed unsettled by her closeness, turning to talk to Aayla far more often. The girl in the orange dress, whose name she remembered was Korr, was too busy downing finger sandwiches to be much company.

Rey sipped her tea delicately, holding the saucer correctly in her left hand as she brought the cup to her mouth with her right. She’d noticed that earlier, Hera, who was also seated at Ben’s table, brought her cup up with her left hand, leaving the saucer on the table. As she set it down, she’d bumped elbows with Korr, spilling the tea on the white tablecloth. That had reminded Rey of which hand to use.

The tea ended with no other incidents. Rey felt her stomach sink in disappointment when the royal family dispersed. Ben hadn’t even noticed her dress.

The women took their dinners in their room that night, with Rey sitting out on her balcony. Jannah, who apparently occupied the room opposite from hers, waved from her balcony across the garden.

She was informed by Rose, who came to help her undress, that Korr and Hera were gone. Less than twenty now remained. Though she was sad to see Hera go, Rey was relieved. She was two steps closer to the end of this stupid contest.

When her head finally hit the pillow, she noticed an odd scratching feeling on her neck. Reaching a hand up, she discovered a note that had been left on her bed.

_"_ _Meet me in the library at midnight, tomorrow._ ”

She turned it over and over, but no name or initial was etched on it. The script was beautiful, but almost everyone in the castle had some form of formal education, even the staff, so that gave nothing away.

She had a strange feeling, deep in her gut, that it was from Ben. But why? There was no reason for him to meet her so late, especially after they had fought. But she couldn’t reason the feeling away; it clung to her like a cobweb.

When she dreamt that night, she dreamt of falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh mysterious! Hope you guys liked this chapter! Leave a comment or a kudos and let me know what you think, your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated. And thank you for reading, of course!
> 
> Side note, I am struggling so much with more ideas for AUs. I refuse to start a new story until this one is done, but I have so many ideas haha.
> 
> I've got a good chapter cooking for you all coming up so stay tuned! See you then ;)
> 
> **** Pinterest link: https://pin.it/60jJW69 ****


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